At one time, Portugal ruled the world. Its explorers discovered the Cape of Good Hope, created colonies around the Indian Ocean, reached China and Japan, founded the city of Nagasaki, and claimed much of South America. The glory days of the Portuguese empire lasted from 1415 to 1750, and left a rich heritage in Portugal.…
Volcanoes can be costly. The Kilauea eruption of Feb 28, 1955 destroyed 21 houses, 10km of road, 4000 acres of sugar plantations and one coffee plantation: the damage was 40 million dollar in today’s prices. The cost of Mount St Helens was 1 billion dollar. Both events were eclipsed by Eyjafjallajokull: its price tag of…
(This was Volcanocafe’s 2016 April-fool story. The section at the end explains how the story was designed) Park to be renamed Yellowstone National Resource ExxonMobil to use Yellowstone for geothermal energy It was announced this morning that ExxonMobil, the largest US oil company, has bought Yellowstone National Park. The price has not been revealed but…
The rocky desert stretches as far as the eye can see: a fascinating vista, forbidding and seemingly unending. Distant hills shimmer in the heat and glare of the Sun. There is beauty here but it is on an inhuman and unearthly scale. The land has been baked bone-dry by many years of sun, heat and…
Large eruptions are well known. Mention Pinatubo, Mount St Helens, Krakatoa, Thera, and everyone knows something about it. The Tambora eruption of 1815 is the largest of this set: it caused the “year without summer”, left tell-tale marks in the ice sheets, and remains a terrifying example of the destructive power of volcanoes. But the…
During his Antarctic expeditions, Shackleton left a volcanic legacy by overseeing the first exploration of Mount Erebus. But in his reports he notes an indication of another volcano, one which has never been identified. In this post I propose the first identification of this mystery volcano. Each their own. The three most famous explorers of…
The Old Volcano Lonely stands the ancient mountain born in flames in ages past when fiery flows subsumed the cities a turmoiled world of lives outcast Remembrance fades the days of danger Threats retreat, let peace return Rebuilding life in virgin cities No longer may the mountain burn Fields of plenty for the people which…
Carbon is amazing. Where would life be without it? It forms short molecules, including the one essential to (previously) intelligent life, ethanol. It forms long linear molecules (aliphatics), round molecules (aromatics) and even spherical molecules (fullerenes) or cylinders (nanotubes). As a solid it forms thin, strong sheets (graphite). If such a sheet is composed of…
Of all continents, Australia is the least geologically active. The landscape is ancient, including some of the oldest rocks in the world. The only mountains are on the eastern edge of the continent. The B59 road across the Blue Mountains from Windsor to Lithgow is one of my favourite drives, with spectacular views (a head…
Lake Toba is a beautiful place. The largest and deepest lake in Southeast Asia, it contains an island (Samosir) almost the size of Singapore – the fifth largest lake island in the world, and the largest island-within-an-island. Samosir contains two smaller lakes, Lake Sidihoni and Lake Aek Natonang – the former even contains its own…