Indonesia’s Mount Sinabung volcano erupts

Indonesia’s Mount Sinabung erupted spewing a massive column of smoke and ash up to 2,800 meters into the sky.

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The volcano has been active since 2010 when it erupted after nearly 400 years of inactivity.

Indonesia is home to many active volcanoes owing to its location in the “Ring of Fire” or the Circum-Pacific Belt — an area along the Pacific Ocean characterised by active volcanoes and frequent earthquakes.

The Ring of Fire is home to about 75 per cent of the world’s volcanoes and about 90 per cent of earthquakes also occur here.

Basically, there are three types of volcanoes — active, dormant or extinct. An eruption takes place when magma (a thick flowing substance), that is formed when the earth’s mantle melts, rises to the surface.

As magma is lighter than rock, it is able to rise through vents and fissures on the surface of the earth. Following eruption, the magma is called lava.