Magma, is hot molten rock, some 12000 degrees F. at the centre of our planet. A volcano is a location where magma, like a champagne bottle, reaches the surface due to a pressure build up. It may happen violently, in a massive supersonic explosion or more quitely like slowly poured liquid honey. Lava, no matter how magnificent it may appear leaves a deadly grave for anything that stands in its way.

Volcanoes have been a part of the Earth's history long before humans. Compare the history of human beings, a few million years in the making, to that of the Earth, over four billion years in the making. Over the last millenium, scientists have calculated that volcanos have taken over 300,000 lives.