What is a volcanic vent?

A volcanic vent is an opening or fissure in a planet's crust that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. Ejecta piling up around this vent can build up simple landforms known as volcanic cones, which often feature a central crater. These vents serve as the primary conduits through which magmatic, phreatic, and phreatomagmatic eruptions expel material onto the surface.

What we know

• A volcano is defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below. [3]
• Volcanic cones are built by ejecta piling up around a volcanic vent in the shape of a cone with a central crater. [1, 2]
• A volcanic eruption occurs when material is expelled from a volcanic vent or fissure. [5]
• Other planets and moons, such as Venus and Mars, also feature volcanoes, and definitions have been proposed to include cryovolcanism involving openings that erupt magma or magmatic gas. [3]

Where to go next

• what followedHow do volcanic cones form?
• how it workedWhat triggers a volcanic eruption?
• compared withHow are hydrothermal vents different?
• the bigger pictureWhat is a volcano?
• a case in pointWhat are the different types of volcanic cones?
• an unexpected connectionHow do deep-sea vents relate to volcanic openings?While terrestrial volcanic vents spew lava and gases into the atmosphere, seafloor hydrothermal vents discharge geothermally heated water through fissures near volcanically active areas to support unique chemosynthetic ecosystems.

Sources

• [1]volcanic cone (Wikidata Q1368970) · CC0 1.0
• [2]Volcanic cone · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [3]Volcano · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [4]Hydrothermal vent · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [5]Volcanic eruption · CC BY-SA 4.0