Volcanoes Quiz: 10 Questions That Test What You Know

This volcanoes quiz covers famous mountains of fire, from Vesuvius and Krakatoa to Mount St. Helens, Mauna Loa and Mount Fuji. Ten questions test what you know about how volcanoes work.

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🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

History
Which volcano buried Pompeii in AD 79?
Size
What is the largest active volcano on land?
Words
What is molten rock called once it reaches the surface?
US
Which volcano in Washington State erupted violently on May 18, 1980?
Asia
Which 1883 eruption in Indonesia produced one of the loudest sounds in recorded history?
Types
Which type of volcano has gentle slopes built by runny lava?
Japan
Mount Fuji is which kind of volcano?
Europe
What is the most active volcano in Europe?
Records
Which 1815 eruption was the largest in recorded history?
Geography
Where are about three-quarters of the world's active volcanoes found?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: Which volcano buried Pompeii in AD 79?
Answer: Vesuvius
Vesuvius covered Pompeii and Herculaneum in ash and pumice. Roman writer Pliny the Younger described the eruption in letters.
Q2: What is the largest active volcano on land?
Answer: Mauna Loa
Mauna Loa in Hawaii is a broad shield volcano. Measured from the seafloor, it rises about 9 kilometers.
Q3: What is molten rock called once it reaches the surface?
Answer: Lava
Underground, molten rock is called magma. Once it flows out of a volcano, it is called lava.
Q4: Which volcano in Washington State erupted violently on May 18, 1980?
Answer: Mount St. Helens
The eruption blew away about 400 meters of the summit after a huge landslide on its north side.
Q5: Which 1883 eruption in Indonesia produced one of the loudest sounds in recorded history?
Answer: Krakatoa
The blast was heard about 4,800 kilometers away. Its ash colored sunsets around the world for months.
Q6: Which type of volcano has gentle slopes built by runny lava?
Answer: Shield volcano
Shield volcanoes, like those in Hawaii, look like a warrior's shield lying on the ground.
Q7: Mount Fuji is which kind of volcano?
Answer: Stratovolcano
Stratovolcanoes are steep cones built from layers of lava and ash. Fuji last erupted in 1707.
Q8: What is the most active volcano in Europe?
Answer: Mount Etna
Etna in Sicily erupts frequently. Its fertile slopes are covered in vineyards and orchards.
Q9: Which 1815 eruption was the largest in recorded history?
Answer: Tambora
Tambora in Indonesia cooled the planet so much that 1816 became known as the Year Without a Summer.
Q10: Where are about three-quarters of the world's active volcanoes found?
Answer: The Pacific Ring of Fire
The Ring of Fire follows plate boundaries around the Pacific, from Chile to Japan and New Zealand.

Volcanoes Quiz – Inside a Volcano

A volcano is an opening in Earth's crust where molten rock, gas and ash escape. Magma collects in chambers below the surface. When pressure builds, it pushes upward, sometimes flowing gently and sometimes exploding.

Most volcanoes form where tectonic plates meet. Others, like Hawaii's, sit above hotspots, plumes of hot rock rising from deep in the mantle. Scientists monitor earthquakes, ground swelling and gases to warn people before eruptions.

What This Quiz Teaches

Students and nature fans can use this quiz to learn the basics of volcanoes and the eruptions that changed history.

How magma differs from lava
Which eruption buried Pompeii
How shield and stratovolcanoes differ
Why 1816 had no summer
Where the Ring of Fire is

Did You Know?

Olympus Mons on Mars is the largest known volcano in the solar system.
Indonesia has more active volcanoes than any other country.
Volcanic soil is very fertile, so many farms grow near volcanoes.
Iceland's 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption grounded flights across Europe.
Some volcanoes erupt underwater and build new islands.