A Salty Volcanoe
A Salty Volcanoe - tells its story
My Story - I'm a little salt volcanoe
I was formed in a swamp near the sea. Sorry no molten rock, fire or ash - just very very salty water!
I form when crusty salty sand overlays some swampy organic material.
When the sun comes out the surface becomes crusty and heats the underlying organic material.
The hot salty water wants to burst out but is its blocked by the surface"crust".
The underlyng organic mud gives of rotting methane gas and the underlying very salty water expands as it gets hotter builds up pressure.
The combined pressures of the heated gas and expanding water squirt very salty water through the crust forming a little volcanoe shape.
As a result methane gas is formed and hypersaline water squirts out through the tin crust of salty sand making little salt volcanoes.
"Hypersaline" means very very salty. "Methane" is a gas created when vegetation rots.
I "erupt" in little squirts, each time the underlying mud gets very hot.
So the volcanoe I make has layers in the crater.
Learn more about COASTAL ENVIRONMENT