Some nations seem decidedly unvolcanic. They lack the geology and the temperament for eruptions. Take Norway – a no-nonsense nation which prefers a bit of solitude and does not go for attention grabbing. A search for Norwegian volcanoes does come up with some good examples, but these are distant islands which Norway acquired accidentally. Of…
And then there was a volcano no one has ever heard off. It is on an island that is far off-grid and which takes a 9-hour ferry to get there. (There is a small plane, if you are happy to travel without luggage.) The volcano has long gone extinct. All that remains is this island,…
We continue where we left in the previous article. Last time we were looking at the eruptions of Mauna Loa in 1852, 1855-56, and 1859. These three large, closely spaced eruptions took place in the Northeast Rift Zone (NERZ) and north flank of the volcano. The next major flank eruption would happen in 1868. …
There has been much talk about Mauna Loa lately. Reason for this is that the earthquake levels have become increasingly elevated in past years, and even more so within the past few months, with some alarming episodes of earthquake activity at the summit. We’ve had two strong swarms coupled with rapid inflation of the caldera,…
Volcanology is filled with moments when you look at your favourite volcano doing something interesting, and you hope that it will erupt. There is no shame to admit it, we are secretly cheering our favourites on towards the inevitable eruption. Time and time again we are though let down by our volcanoes, and if you…
A few days ago, in the VC back-channel, I made mention of something I had seen on a SciChan program. That October is the anniversary of the 79AD eruption. Albert then chimed in with a link to a BBC article detailing the same. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-45874858 Okay, that’s the second thing about October that is interesting. 25…
Growth is in. Politicians and leaders (not always the same thing) want their country to grow. Nowadays this normally means economic growth: the wish to become more wealthy. It would make those leaders more popular, and may provide them with more resources to spend on whatever leaders spend money on. In the very different world…
For a brief period this was the nation’s capital. During the war of independence (called a ‘police action’ by the Dutch, in an older echo of some current events), Yogyakarta served as the seat of the Republic between 1946 (the fall of Jakarta to the Dutch) until 1948. Indonesia later rewarded the city by granting…
Continental drift was dead. The idea had been around for a long time. Just a cursory look at a map shows the similarity between the coast lines on either side of the Atlantic ocean. They fit even more precisely when looking at the continental shelf rather than the actual coast line. Even better, the geology…
After the post on Mount Fuji, there was a discussion on which was the most beautiful volcano. Beauty can be a rather vague term, and people can disagree with each other as to the best volcanic beauty. Who is the judge in the Volcano World beauty contest? Or can we solve the question here, and…
The story begins with Japan’s iconic volcano. Mount Fuji has become the poster child of volcanism – it is what every volcano strives to be. This is the most climbed mountain in the world. The spring-time view of Mount Fuji framed by cherry blossom is the very emblem of Japan. The reflection of Fuji is…
Republished from https://roseannechambers.com, with kind permission by the author. It is a blog we happily recommend to our readers! In the recent geologic history of the Grand Canyon, volcanoes erupted in the Colorado River channel and on the rim, pouring lava over the canyon walls. Hot lava often flowed down the river channel for tens…
There is a hole in New Zealand. It is sitting midway between Auckland and Wellington, about as far from the sea as it is possible to get in New Zealand. Even a casual look at the map already shows the big lake right in the middle of the North Island, looking misplaced and oversized within…
Italy is a fascinating country, and when it comes to volcanology, Italy has been arguably the most influential location in the planet. The first ever detailed description of a volcanic eruption came from Pliny the Younger writing about the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD. Vesuvius was also the first volcano to be watched over…
There are so many volcanoes right now that have the size and history to produce a massive eruption but only one volcano has me worried for the imminent future and you’ve heard it’s name before, Chiles-Cerro Negro. As of late Chile-Cerro Negro has been having a massive swarm with accelerating deformation which has caught some…
