Tagged: volcano

Magnificent Mount Etna Volcano Roaring Lava [42 Photos]

August 19th, 2014 Permalink

Mount Etna, one of the 17 Decade Volcanoes and Europe’s tallest active volcano, has been putting on a great show. Adrenaline-seeking tourists have been getting up-close and personal for the rumbling and lava spewing spectacle in Italy. Even the astronauts aboard the ISS have taken note and grabbed some stunning shots. Here’s Mount Etna…[42 Photos]

Mount Etna lava fountain, August 2014

After rumbling for months, Mount Etna is spewing molten lava like in this lava fountain taken in August 2014. Photo #1 by Davide Nicotra

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42 of the World’s Most Beautiful Crater Lakes

December 22nd, 2012 Permalink

If you approached the rim of a volcano and looked down into it, you might expect to see a lava pool, but if the volcano previously erupted and then the top of it collapsed into a huge bowl-shaped crater, or caldera, then what you might see when you peer over the rim is a beautiful crater lake. Sometimes the water is acidic and the lake has a bright greenish hue. Other times the water is a cloudy turquoise color, yet other times the lake may appear to be a very deep shade of blue. Crater Lake, Oregon, is one of the most well known, but crater lakes can be found all over the globe. If the volcano has been dormant for a long time, the water can be extremely clear because no river or streams flow into with sediment deposits. In some cases, water may have filled up an impact crater to form a lake, but this is less common. A few crater lakes were created by man via an atomic blast, but an artificially-created crater lake is the least common of all. All crater lakes were once a place where the earth experienced great violence, but now are a place of great beauty . . . even though the volcano can become active and violent again. Here are 44 photos of 42 of the world’s most beautiful crater lakes. [44 Photos]

Lake Quilotoa is a water-filled caldera and the westernmost volcano in the Ecuadorian Andes

Lake Quilotoa is a water-filled caldera and the western most volcano in the Ecuadorian Andes. The crater is about 2 miles wide and the lake is about 820 feet deep. It is tinted green by dissolved minerals. Photo #1 by Kevin Labianco

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Before Magnificent Mount Fuji Volcano Erupts…[46 PICS]

September 15th, 2012 Permalink

We haven’t done much looking around at Japan, other than Nara Dreamland, the abandoned Disney knock-off amusement park, but now the experts are red-alert claiming that Mount Fuji volcano is about to erupt. Mathematical models created in September 2012 by the National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Prevention suggested that the pressure in Mount Fuji’s magma chamber could be at 1.6 megapascals higher than it was in 1707. The media jumped on this to claim as meaning an eruption of Mt. Fuji was imminent. We’ll leave that for the scientists to decide because nothing can be done to stop a natural disaster. Meanwhile, Mount Fuji has applied to be a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site. It’s been around in Japanese art since ancient times when samurai warriors trained at the base and women were forbidden from climbing to the sacred summit. Nowadays people travel from all over the world specifically to see this view; about 300,000 adventuresome souls climb to the summit annually. It’s thought Mount Fuji means “everlasting life.” Ironically at the northwest base of Fuji there are 14 sq miles (35-sq-km) that represent the opposite of life — the taking of life. Aokigahara Forest, also called the Sea of Trees, is infamous as a dense forest where troubled souls go to commit suicide. So we interrupt the scheduled panic and doomsday disaster news, to take in the beauty before it is allegedly destroyed in an eruption. Here’s the magnificent 12,389 ft (3,776.24 m ) Mount Fuji, one of Japan’s ‘Three Holy Mountains’ and the Suicide Forest. [46 Photos, 1 Video]

Tea fields and Mount Fuji

It’s all over the news; volcano researchers’ reports warning that an eruption of Mount Fuji in Japan is ‘looming’ and ‘imminent.’ While we certainly hope that such doom and gloom reports of Mount Fuji being a ‘ticking time bomb’ are wrong, we wanted to take a look at the magnificent beauty of the highest mountain in Japan. It’s located on Honshu Island, but towering in at 12,389 feet (3,776.24 meters), the active stratovolcano can be seen from so very many beautiful places in Japan. Here is Mount Fuji and seen from gorgeous green tea fields. Photo #1 by Fujisan

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Highest Points: 20 U.S. National Parks by Elevation [40 PICS]

January 4th, 2012 Permalink

The United States has 58 national parks that are operated by the National Park Service. It takes an act of U.S. Congress to establish a national park and we frequently see these parks listed in some type of ordered list such as number of yearly visitors. This list of 20 parks is by elevation and includes the 20 highest points found among all of the gorgeous U.S. national parks. [40 Photos]

Down the valley towards Denali on this beautiful day, with the one park road winding its way

Denali National Park, Alaska, ranks as the #1 highest point of any U.S. national park. In this valley towards Denali, only the first 15 miles are paved even though the winding road is 92 miles long. Photo #1 by Nic McPhee

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Infamous Mount Vesuvius: One of the World’s Most Dangerous Volcanoes (41 PICS)

October 22nd, 2011 Permalink

East of Naples, Italy, looms the volcano Mount Vesuvius with an elevation of 4,203 feet (1,281 meters). It is a finalist in the New 7 Wonders of Nature competition; voting trends show it becoming more popular and perhaps one of the winners from the 28 natural wonders. Vesuvius is best known for its eruption in 79 AD that led to the destruction of the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. It has erupted many times since and is today regarded as one of the most dangerous and infamous volcanoes in the world. [41 Photos]

Ancient Ruins of Pompeii

Mount Vesuvius looms in the distance from the ancient ruins of Pompeii. This volcano is best known for its eruption in 79 AD that buried and destroyed the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. The towns were forgotten until their accidental rediscovery in the 18th century. Photo #1 by Glen Scarborough

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Erupting Volcanic Paradise: Lava Rivers & Spatter Fountains of Hawaii [48 PICS]

July 30th, 2011 Permalink

Volcanic activity is spiking in Hawaii and people are flocking there to see the spectacular show. Visitors, both regular folks and scientists, to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park are able to witness the active volcanic personality and the formation of new cinder cones, glowing pit craters, rivers of lava and fountains of spatter. This volcanic paradise shows off 70 million years of volcanism, but was only established as a National Park in 1916. It stretches over 333,086 acres (505.36 square miles) and has two active volcanoes. While Kīlauea is one of the world’s most active volcanoes and has been in nearly continuous eruption since 1983, Mauna Loa is the world’s most massive volcano. Hawaii Volcanoes National Park has seven ecological zones, was designated an International Biosphere Reserve in 1980 and became a World Heritage Site in 1987. Welcome to the Big Island and volcanic paradise! We love these pics! [48 Photos]

Lava erupting from the Pu`u `O`o vent

View at dusk of the young Pu’u ‘O’o cinder-and-spatter cone. The fantastic fountain on Kilauea, Hawaii, is shooting up about 40 m high. Photo #1 by G.E. Ulrich/USGS

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Volcanic Jeju, Island of the Gods [33 PICS]

June 19th, 2011 Permalink

Jeju is a volcanic island off the coast of South Korea. Like Ha Long Bay, Jeju is one of the 28 finalists in the New 7 Wonders of Nature competition. Located southwest of the Korean Peninsula, Jejudo Island (제주도) is a volcanic island in the shape of an oval that measures about 45 miles across (73km from west to east), and about 19 miles long (31km from north to south). Jejudo Island is sometimes referred to as “Samdado Island” which means “three many” because of its abundance of rocks, women, and wind. It also has a dormant volcano, Mt. Halla, which rises more than 6,397 feet (1,950 meters) above sea level. 360 satellite volcanoes are around the main volcano. Here’s a look at Jeju (Jeju-do) to see if you think it should be one of the 7 winners to be crowned a New Seven Wonders of Nature. [33 Photos]

A fisherman wades into the waters of Hyeopjae Beach on Jeju, S. Korea

A fisherman wades into the waters of Hyeopjae Beach on Jeju, S. Korea. As Korea’s most southern region, the weather on Jejudo Island is warmer than the mainland even during the cold winter months. Photo #1 by Brian Miller

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31 Year Anniversary of Mount St. Helens Eruption (31 Pics)

May 11th, 2011 Permalink

A major disaster happened 31 years ago. On May 18, 1980, at 8:32 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time, a magnitude 5.1 earthquake shook Mount St. Helens. The bulge and surrounding area slid away in a gigantic rockslide and debris avalanche, releasing pressure, and triggering a maassive pumice and ash eruption of the volcano. 1,300 feet (400 meters) of the peak collapsed or blew outwards. As a result, 24 square miles (62 square kilometers) of valley was filled by a debris avalanche, 250 square miles (650 square kilometers) of recreation, timber, and private lands were damaged by a lateral blast, and an estimated 200 million cubic yards (150 million cubic meters) of material was deposited directly by lahars (volcanic mudflows) into the river channels. 61 people were killed or are still missing.
The Mount St. Helens volcano is located in the Cascade Range. It’s a part of the Cascade Volcanic Arc, a segment of the Pacific Ring of Fire that includes over 160 active volcanoes. This volcano is well known for its ash explosions and pyroclastic flows. It’s been 31 years ago since the catastrophic eruption of Mount St. Helens, so here’s a look at that blast – the deadliest and most economically destructive volcanic event in the history of the United States – and five more throughout the years. [31 Photos]

Mt St Helens erupting with spirit lake reflection 05-19-82

Mount St. Helens erupting with Spirit Lake reflection 05-19-82. This was just the beginning. Mount St. Helens and the devastated area is now within the 110,000-acre Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, under jurisdiction of the United States Forest Service. Visitor centers, interpretive areas, and trails are being established as thousands of tourists, students, and scientists visit the monument daily. Mount St. Helens is once again considered to be one of the most beautiful and interesting of the Cascade volcanic peaks. Photo #1 by Lyn Topinka

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Beautiful Borobudur: “Pathway to Enlightenment” in 40 Photos

May 9th, 2011 Permalink

On the island of Java, Indonesia, stands a mountain of a thousand statues which is shrouded in mystery and surrounded by volcanoes. Borobudur, an ancient Buddhist stupa and temple complex, was abandoned for centuries, but no one knows why. In fact, it was forgotten for so long that it was hidden beneath volcanic ash and overgrown by thick jungle for hundreds of years. But now beautiful Borobudur is hugely popular Buddhist monument in central Java. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We love these pics of Borobudur! [40 Photos]

Mt. Merapi erupts from Borobudur horizon

On the island of Java, Indonesia, stands a mountain of a thousand statues. Borobudur is surrounded by volcanoes such as in this photo of Mt. Merapi erupting from the Borobudur horizon. Borobudur shrouded in mystery. In 1814, 200 men set out to search for this legendary mountain near the small village of Boro. For six weeks, they slashed through wickedly thick vegetation and then cleared away tons of volcanic ash. Hidden beneath the debris, they uncovered strange figures carved in stone and they discovered thousands of them! This is beautiful Borobudur. Photo #1 by ctsnow

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