Tag archives for Volcanoes
Posted by Iceland is an amazing island filled with bubbling volcanoes and icy glaciers. One actually erupted just two years ago leaving many towns under ashes.
As we were getting ready for London my cousin was chosen to play on a professional soccer (or, as they say, “futball”) team in Iceland so we did what any good family would do and took a slight detour to The Land of Fire and Ice.
Posted by Mount Etna, the most active volcano in Europe, has been erupting off and on since early July. Although the volcano erupts often, the lava moves slowly, so there almost never any danger. The volcano has become more active during the last 50 years.
Read more about Mount Etna and see more pictures on National Geographic News.
Think you know the ins and outs of volcanoes? Quiz Your Noodle and find out!
Photograph by Marcello Paternostro, AFP/Getty Images
On May 21 Iceland’s most active volcano, Grímsvötn began erupting, spewing a 12-mile-high (19-kilometer-high) cloud of ash. The eruption has also generated volcanic lightning. Grímsvötn volcano is one of seven volcanoes located under the Vatnajökull ice cap.
Icelandic airports have canceled flights because of the ash, and London’s Heathrow Airport may be affected by the end of the week. In 2010, Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull volcano erupted, disrupting air traffic across Europe for several days.
See more pictures of the erupting volcano on National Geographic News.
Watch a video to learn more about volcanoes.
Photograph from AFP/Getty Images
On May 18, 1980, the Mount St. Helens volcano in Washington State erupted. The eruption (which was heard hundreds of miles away) blew off the top of the mountain, destroyed miles of forest, and killed 57 people.
In the 30 years since the eruption, scientists have been able to study how an ecosystem recovers from a volcanic eruption. What was once a desolate, gray blast zone in 1980 is now home to many plants and animals. Although it has not had an eruption of the same size since 1980, Mount St. Helens is one of the most active volcanoes in the United States and could erupt again.
Read more about the potential danger from Mount St. Helens on National Geographic News.
See a gallery of images of Mount St. Helens on National Geographic.
Think you know volcanoes? Quiz Your Noodle and prove it!
(AD) Read more about volcanoes in the National Geographic book Witness to Disaster: Volcanoes.
Photograph by Peter Lipman, USGS and Gene Iwatsubo, USGS
An underwater volcano 745 miles south of Tokyo, Japan, erupted earlier this month. The volcano, Fukutoku-Okanoba, last erupted in July 2005. Past Fukutoku-Okanoba eruptions have caused miniature islands to form, but the ocean’s waves have washed them away. The eruption of underwater volcanoes can also form very large islands, like those that make up the Hawaiian Islands.
Will this eruption create a new island? “We have seen no evidence of an island being created yet, but it is possible, and we will continue to monitor the situation,” said Keiji Doi of the Japan Meteorological Agency.
See pictures of the eruption on National Geographic News.
Visit a gallery of erupting volcano pictures on National Geographic Kids.
How much do you know about volcanoes? Quiz Your Noodle and find out!
Alaska’s Mount Redoubt erupted six times between Sunday night and Saturday morning, sending an ash cloud 9.5 miles (15 kilometers) into the air! The eruptions also caused small earthquakes and mudflows. The volcano could keep erupting for days… weeks… or even months!
Mount Redoubt wasn’t the only recent volcano eruption. An undersea volcano in Tonga also erupted last week. Tonga is an archipelago (group of islands) in the Pacific Ocean. The eruption has sent up ash, smoke, and steam. Underwater volcanoes can build islands as the magma builds up–that’s how the Hawaiian Islands were formed.
Read more about the Mount Redoubt eruptions and see pictures on National Geographic News.
Read about the Tonga eruption on National Geographic News.
See photos of volcanoes in the Photo Gallery!
