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Our home planet displays a wide variety
of volcanic activity. From shield volcanoes to flood basalts, Earth displays
each type of volcanism. The Earth has active plate tectonics, causing
volcanoes at divergent and convergent plate boundaries, as well as at hot
spots. Volcanoes provide fertile, though dangerous, areas which are
often home to a rich variety of life. Volcanism under the ocean at
mid-oceanic ridges creates new crust. Iceland is an example of a mid-oceanic
ridge exposed on land. |
| Image taken from http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/codej/codeje/je_site/about_us/about_us.html |