Famous Volcanoes In The World

Volcanoes have long been regarded as symbolic of nature’s fury and are notorious for the catastrophic damage they cause. It is interesting to note that volcanoes can be located anywhere, on land, underwater and even under velvety layers of snow. There are vents in the volcano that provide passage for the molten magma, forced out due to overwhelming pressure. The temperature of molten lava is extremely high, which can burn anything that comes its way, while also burning things in the vicinity. Famous volcanoes in the world have caused immense destruction with their enormity. Read on to know about some of

famous volcanoes.  

 

Mount Vesuvius volcano, in Italy, erupted in 79 A.D and killed about 2000 people. The ash and volcanic bombs produced by the volcano consumed the entire city of Pompeii and reduced it to ashes. No molten lava came out of the volcano, which could have furthered the destruction. This volcano is not active anymore. It is believed to be a dormant volcano, though there is a possibility of eruption anytime as is the case with most dormant volcanoes.

 

Kilauea Volcano is located in the southeast part of the Hawaii and was considered to be the most active volcano in the past. Major part of this volcano remains under water and it overlaps on the Mauna Loa shield volcano. Several interesting legends are associated with the volcanic eruptions on Kilauea volcano. The crater that is visible today was created way back in 1790 and it comprises of a pit, by the name Halemaumau. The more recent eruption of this volcano has been in 1983, though the layers of lava found on the craters are as old as 1000 years. The 1983 eruption covered approximately100 square kilometer of land and 200 houses were reportedly gutted.  

Llullaillaco is one of the tallest active volcanoes of the world, situated in the Atacama region, known for being home to a number of volcanoes. A lot of debris can be found around the volcano, which is draped in snow for most of the time. The avalanche deposits around the volcano can be traced to the southern flows of the lava from the volcano. The volcano last erupted in 1877, but has remained dormant since then with no recent activity being observed.

Mount Saint Helens Volcano, located in Washington, first erupted some 120 years back. The explosion had the power of approximately 30,000 nuclear bombs. More recently, the volcano erupted in 1980 and was measured 5.1 on the Richter scale. It resulted in the collapse of the north side of Mount Saint Helens and also led to the collection of a lot of avalanche debris. The eruption continued for years and in the course, consumed 230 square miles of forest area. In spite of a prior warning, it claimed over 60 lives. The eruption also considerably altered the landscape around the mountain.