Britannica Student Encyclopedia - 2010

deadliest volcanic eruptions happened in

1815 and 1883 on islands in what is

now Indonesia. The eruptions killed

tens of thousands of people.

The 1980 eruption of Mount Saint

Helens, in the U.S. state ofWashington,

was one of the biggest in North

America. The 1991 eruption of Mount

Pinatubo, in the Philippines, was the

largest of the 1900s. These eruptions

killed fewer people than earlier volcanoes,

but they still destroyed much

property.

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Fuji, Mount • Geology • Hawaii

• Iceland • Mountain • Ring of Fire

• Vesuvius, Mount

Vole

Voles are small mammals that belong to

the rodent family. They look like mice.

There are more than 100 species, or

types, of vole. They are found in North

America, Europe, and Asia. A small

number of voles live in the African

country of Libya. Voles can be found in

many different habitats, including forests,

prairies, and meadows.

Voles have small eyes and ears. Their

snout is blunt rather than pointy. The

tail is shorter than the body. Voles have

long, soft fur that is usually gray, brown,

or reddish in color.

Most voles grow between 4 to 10 inches

(10 to 26 centimeters) long, including

the tail. The woodland vole is one of the

smallest. It weighs less than 1 ounce (35

grams) and is under 5 inches (13 centimeters)

long. One of the larger voles is

the European water vole. It weighs up to

The mildest type of volcanic eruption consists

of a flow of lava from fissures, or

cracks, in the ground. This type of eruption

takes place in Iceland.

Most voles live in underground tunnels.

They come aboveground to find food.

102 Vole BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

 

9 ounces (250 grams) and is 14 inches

(35 centimeters) long.

Voles are active year-round. They eat

plants and sometimes insects. Most voles

live in burrows, or underground tunnels.

But some, such as the Sonoma tree vole,

live in trees.Water voles are found near

ponds and streams. They are excellent

swimmers.

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Mammal • Rodent

Volga River

The Volga is Europe’s longest river. It

flows 2,325 miles (3,740 kilometers)

through western Russia. The Volga has

played an important part in the life of

the Russian people. In Russian folklore

it is called Mother Volga.

The Volga begins in the Valdai Hills

northwest of Moscow, Russia’s capital. It

flows generally southward to the Caspian

Sea. Canals and other rivers connect

the Volga to the Baltic Sea, the

White Sea, the Sea of Azov, and the

Black Sea.

The Volga gets about 60 percent of its

water from melting snow. The rest of its

water comes from underground sources

and rainfall. The Volga used to flood

during the spring. Today dams and artificial

lakes called reservoirs store its

water and prevent floods.

The Volga is important to Russia’s

economy. Power stations at the reservoirs

use the river to produce electricity. Boats

on the Volga carry more than half of the

goods shipped within Russia. Construction

materials, including timber, make

up most of the shipments. Many passenger

boats also use the Volga.

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Caspian Sea • River • Russia

Volleyball

Volleyball is a team sport in which players

use their hands or arms to knock a

ball over a net. Two teams, usually with

six players each, compete in a volleyball

The Volga River now has dams to control

flooding. People build houses close to the

riverbank because they are not afraid of

rising waters.

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Volleyball 103

 

game. Volleyball can be played inside, in

a gym, or outside, on a beach or in a

park.

Court and Equipment

Volleyball is played on a court that is 30

feet (9 meters) wide by 60 feet (18

meters) long. A center line divides the

court into two equal areas. A net runs

along the center line. Each team defends

one side of the net. A volleyball is filled

with air and weighs 9 to 10 ounces (260

to 280 grams).

Playing the Game

Play begins when one player serves. A

player serves by hitting the ball over to

the receiving team’s side of the net. The

receiving team tries to return the serve,

or hit the ball back over the net. The

receiving team can return the serve with

a single hit. More often, though, the

receiving team tries to set the ball. To do

this, players hit the ball into the air on

their own side of the net. A good set

allows a teammate to drive the ball over

the net with great force. This makes it

harder for the other team to hit it back.

The teams hit the ball back and forth

over the net until one team scores a

point. A team scores a point when it

lands the ball on the floor inside the

other team’s playing area. A team also

scores a point if the other team hits the

ball out of bounds or makes some other

error. Scoring 25 points wins a game. A

team has to win by at least two points.

History

William G. Morgan invented the game

of volleyball in 1895 at the Young Men’s

Christian Association (YMCA) in Holyoke,

Massachusetts. It quickly became

popular in schools and on playgrounds

throughout the United States. In the

early 1900s the sport spread throughout

the rest of the world. In 1947 an organization

called the Federation Internationale

de Volleyball (FIVB) was formed to

govern the sport worldwide. In 1964