5 Eruption!

Chapter Five ERUPTION! They followed Elenola off the peak, trekking along the well-worn path which ran down the side of Mount Yasur. Cheng felt the heat of the volcano beneath his feet. It was incredible to think that he was standing directly above trillions of tons of boiling molten rock. "Is the Spider going to be OK?" Leah asked.

"Oh yes," Elenola said. "It will stay where we left it and continue monitoring the activity for the observatory. There's a great viewpoint up ahead, where we'll be able to watch the eruption from a safe distance." Cheng was pleased they wouldn't miss it. They trekked on, following the path. The sides of the mountain swooped down into the bright green rainforests below, and the ocean sparkled along the sandy beaches. Elenola pointed to a large group of rocks a short distance ahead of them, where one or two of the tourist groups were already standing and looking back at the crater. "That's where we're going," she said.

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As soon as Cheng and Leah reached the rocks, there was a hollow, booming sound behind them. Red molten rock shot out of the crater, jetting fifteen or twenty yards into the air. The eruption lit up the clouds, creating crazy patterns and shadows in the swirling mass of water vapor and gases. "This is so cool! But why exactly is it erupting?" Leah asked curiously. "Well, the Earth is made up of different layers," Cheng said. "It has a superhot center, then a layer of solid rock called the mantle, and then the crust, which is the part we're all standing on. The crust is made up of tectonic plates, which are kind of like gigantic paving stones." He paused as a huge spray of lava shot out of the crater.

"Whoa! Anyway, some of the tectonic plates are pulling apart, and some of them are pushing together—" "Wait, the Earth's crust is moving?" asked Leah, her eyes wide. Cheng nodded. "Don't worry, it's happening really, really slowly. At the edges of the plates, the rocks in the mantle melt to make magma. This magma pushes its way upward—and if it reaches the Earth's surface, a volcano forms! The magma comes out of the volcano, and is then called lava." Cheng pointed at the spouting, grumbling Mount Yasur. "That's what's happening right now!" They stood watching until the volcano grew quieter, and finally stopped entirely. "I wonder if Halani's seen an eruption that big before," said Leah. "Where is she, anyway?"

"I haven't seen her or Keemo since we were at the crater," said Cheng. "Animals can be really sensitive to natural disasters," Leah said, biting her lip. "Maybe Keemo could sense the eruption and ran off." "Let's ask around," said Cheng. "Maybe someone's seen them." They started walking around among the groups of tourists, who were beginning to trickle away back down the mountainside. Had they seen a girl with a black and tan puppy?