- While we certainly have some big volcanoes here on Earth, the biggest known volcano in our solar system is actually on Mars. Its name is Olympus Mons and it measures a whooping 600 km (373 miles) wide and 21km (13 miles) high.
- Common volcanic gases include water vapor, carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, hydrogen chloride, hydrogen fluoride and hydrogen sulfide.
- Large volcanic eruptions can reflect radiation from the Sun and drop average temperatures on Earth by around half a degree. There have been several examples of this over the last century.
- It is important in earthquake prone countries such as Japan to build houses and buildings that react well to earthquakes. Good engineering practises can help stop buildings collapsing under the stress of large earthquakes.
- An earthquake that hit Haiti in January 2010 with a magnitude of 7.0 killed over 200000 people according to Haitian sources.