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During powerful eruptions, volcanic lightning can occur within the plume, or ash cloud. Colliding particles of ash create tremendous amounts of static electricity, which makes lightning. Zap! The recent eruption of the Taal Volcano in the Philippines is a great example of this. DESTRUCTION … OR CREATION? Volcanoes have earned their reputation as destroyers, burying whole cities, like ancient Pompeii, in ash. The worst eruptions have even been connected by some historians to mass prehistoric extinctions. And yet, there's another side to all this power. Eruptions can build whole new islands of igneous (or volcanic) rock. Volcanic soil is packed with essential nutrients, making it some of the most fertile in the world.There's even a theory that four billion years ago, the chemical reactions caused by erupting volcanoes created life itself. So are they destroyers or creators? They're both! They're vital engines of our ever-changing Earth. 1 CINDER CONES The most common volcanoes. As tephra and ash shoot up and cool in the air, they fall to the ground as volcanic dust. Over time, this dust builds into a cone of igneous rock around the vent. 2 STRATOVOLCANO The most destructive volcanoes. They start off as cinder cones, but continued eruptions—and layers of lava, rock, and ash—build them into something larger. 3 SHIELD 7KHVHDUH½DWWHUDQGZLGHUWKDQ other volcanoes. They are created E\ODYD½RZVWKDWRR]HLQDOO directions. The result is a gently sloping, shield-shaped volcano. 4 LAVA DOMES When lava is so thick that it really FDQ³W½RZDQ\ZKHUHLWMXVWVLWVLQ the crater. Eventually it cools into a dome of rock. There are four main types of volcanoes. VOLCANIC VERSIONS 1 2 3 4 TEPHRA Airborne bits of lava ejected during an eruption IGNEOUS ROCK Rock formed by cooling lava (volcanic rock) LAVA Molten rock after it has reached the surface MAGMA Molten rock under the surface CRATER The top of an open vent VOLCANO QUICK TERMS Here's what makes up a basic volcano: A ts of lava va A rock after eached the surface MA US ROCK A k surface A R an open vent a ) ROCK