If volcanoes are so dangerous why do so many people live near them? The answer lies in the soil.

Over thousands to millions of years, volcanic materials break down to form some of the most fertile soil on Earth. This helps grow food in large amounts.

Areas where volcanoes have erupted contain rich, fertile soil. In Indonesia, some of the best rice-growing regions are in the shadows of active volcanoes. In parts of the USA some of the best farmlands have soil of volcanic origin.

Volcanic eruptions also give us minerals. Most of the metallic minerals mined in the world – copper, gold, silver, lead and zinc – are produced in the magma of extinct volcanoes.

Volcanoes, each with their own personalities and patterns of behaviour, may be very dangerous but they also have some valuable qualities to share with their human neighbours.