Speaking of volcanos, these photos of Bardabunga volcano (Bárðarbunga) in Iceland are fantastic. Bárðarbunga is a stratovolcano located under Vatnajökull, Iceland's most extensive glacier. The second highest mountain in Iceland, 2,009 metres (6,591 ft) above sea level, Bárðarbunga is also part of a volcanic system that is approximately 200 kilometres (120 mi) long and 25 … [Read more...]
Video: Colima volcano erupts in Mexico
A webcam focused on the Colima volcano in Jalisco, México captured this powerful footage at about 9:13 a.m. Wednesday morning local time: Colima is active stratovolcano that has erupted several times in recent weeks. This latest eruption created a +13,000 feet cloud of ash, according to local civil defense authorities. Follow the volcano on … [Read more...]
10 volcanos from the Ring of Fire
After I wrote about the eruption of Mount Sinabung, I wondered: how many volcanos exist in that region? You might already know the answer: a lot. In Indonesia alone, there at least 150 volcanos. These include Lake Toba, whose massive eruption 75,000 years ago led to 6 six years of volcanic winter, and Krakatoa, whose explosion is considered the loudest sound in modern … [Read more...]
The blue flames of Kawah Ijen
Kawah Ijen is a volcano on the island of Java with an unusual geologic quality: sulfur-rich gases, which emerge through cracks around the crater and ignite on contact with the air. Sulfur itself isn't unusual around volcanos – it's the high amount of sulfur present at Kawah Ijen that makes a difference. During the day the combustion is invisible, but as night falls it appears … [Read more...]
Sinabung before and after
On August 29, 2010, after four centuries of inactivity, Mount Sinabung in North Sumatra, Indonesia erupted in what is called a minor eruption – ash spewed 1.5 km (nearly a mile) high into the atmosphere, and lava overflowed its crater. Since then, the volcano has erupted over 200 times and displaced thousands of people. On February 2, 2014 the volcano erupted again: The … [Read more...]