What does a volcano look like? What is a volcano? Where is the largest volcano? Types of volcanic eruptions

[:RU]Volcanoes are a bright and tangible manifestation of the full power of the Earth, the unbridled forces of nature. Since ancient times, people have perceived fiery rivers of hot magma, volcanic ash and gases escaping into the very skies as a manifestation of the wrath of the gods, the emergence of the underworld on the surface of the planet. Volcanoes typically occur where tectonic plates converge or diverge. For example, the volcanoes of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge are formed by diverging tectonic plates; The Pacific Ring of Fire volcanoes are formed by converging tectonic plates. The lifespan of a volcano can vary from a few months to several million years, making the attempt to classify volcanoes meaningless in comparison to such short lifespans of humans or even civilizations.
Most scientists consider volcanoes to be active if they have erupted in the last 10,000 years. There are about 1,500 active volcanoes in the world - most along the Pacific Ring of Fire - and about 50 of them erupt every year. About 500 million people live near active volcanoes. In the gallery we will look at the Earth's erupting volcanoes from above. These images were captured from space by satellites and by crew members aboard the International Space Station.

1. Sarycheva Volcano, Russia
View of Sarycheva Volcano (Russia Kuril Islands) at the beginning of its eruption on June 12, 2009. According to experts, Sarychev Peak is the most active volcano of the Kuril ridge and is located in the north-west of the island of Matua.
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2. Klyuchevskoy Volcano, Russia
The picture shows the eruption of September 30-October 11, 1994. The eruption was photographed 184 km above the Earth.

3. Pavlova Volcano in Alaska
Astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) photographed these striking views of the May 18, 2013 eruption of Mount Pavlova. Located on the Aleutian Arc, it is 1,000 kilometers southwest of Anchorage.

4. Mannam Volcano, Papua New Guinea
Mannam Volcano in Papua New Guinea released a thin, weak plume on June 16, 2010. Opaque white clouds partially obscure the satellite view of the volcano. Clouds can result from water vapor from a volcano. The volcanic plume appears as a thin, blue-gray veil spreading northwest across the Bismarck Sea. The Manam volcano forms an island with a diameter of approximately 10 kilometers. This is a stratovolcano. The volcano consists of two craters, and although both are active, most of the known ones came from the southern crater.

5. Volcano Puyehue Cordon Caule, Chile
After awakening on June 4, 2011, the Puyehue Cordon Caule volcano continued to erupt until at least June 6. Located in Chile, just west of the Argentine border, Puyehue Cordon Caule emits a plume of light ash that stretches along the edge of the Andes. A few hours earlier, the prevailing winds had changed, forming a visible, prominent break in the plume. The ash ejected from the crater of the volcano reached a height of 12,000 meters.

6. Eyjafjallajokull Volcano, Iceland

7. Volcano Nyiragongo, Congo
Two East African volcanoes, Nyamlagira and Nyiragongo, account for 40 percent of all recorded eruptions in Africa. These two volcanoes are located on the edge of the Western Rift, and are part of a giant crack in the Earth's crust that extends thousands of kilometers from the Middle East south to central Africa. The craters of each periodically contain lava lakes. Lava lakes can be washed away during eruptions, or they can spill over the rim of the crater or through cracks in the rock. In 2002, a lava lake on Mount Nyiragongo leaked during a side eruption on the southern slopes. This lava flow flowed into the city of Goma, killing dozens of people.

8. Shinmoe-Dake Volcano, Japan
on Kyushu The Shinmoe-Dake volcano, located on the Japanese island of Kyushu, began to erupt on January 26, 2011. The release of ash and ash into the air caused flight cancellations, train stoppages and school closures in the city of Miyazaki.

9. Volcano Merapi on the island of Java, Indonesia
The peak of Merapi volcano rises 2911 meters above sea level. It is one of the most active volcanoes in Indonesia and has been almost continuously active for nearly a decade, including periodically emitting pyroclastic flows (a mixture of hot ash and rock debris). The volcano is located less than 40 kilometers north of the city of Yogyakarta in Central Java. More than 50,000 people live near the southwestern slope of the volcano.

10. Karangetang Volcano (Api Siau), Indonesia

11. Volcano Etna, Sicily, Italy
Photo from on board the International Space Station. The city of Catania was covered in a layer of ash and Fontanarossa International Airport was closed. On that day, the ash clouds reached a maximum height of 5.2 km. Etna is one of the most famous in human history. Historical evidence about it has been known since 1500 BC.

12. Eyjafjallajokull Volcano, Iceland
Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull from space. Iceland, May 6 at 11:55

13. Chaiten Volcano, Chile
After more than 9,000 years of silence, the Chaiten volcano in southern Chile erupted with a powerful eruption on May 2, 2008. A column of ash and steam rose into the atmosphere to a height of 16.8 km. According to media reports, smoke enveloped the town of Chaiten, 10 kilometers from the volcano, forcing the town's 4,000 residents to evacuate by ship and boat. On May 3, ash and steam continued to billow.

14. Klyuchevskoy volcano, Russia

We want to show you a series of photographs taken from space, which reflect this phenomenal natural phenomenon.

It was photographed on June 12, 2009 aboard the International Space Station. Volcano Sarychev is one of the busiest in the Kuril archipelago.

The eruption was captured by astronauts aboard the space shuttle Endeavor in 1994.

Astronauts on the International Space Station took this photo on May 18, 2013.

Manam Volcano is located 13 kilometers off the coast of Papua New Guinea and forms an island 10 km wide. This is a stratovolcano consisting of two craters, both active, but large eruptions are characteristic only of the southern crater. The photo was taken on June 16, 2010.

After awakening on June 4, 2011, the volcano continued to spew smoke for at least two days. It is located in Chile, right on the border with Argentina.

NASA's Terra satellite flew over a volcano in Iceland on May 6, 2014.

The Nyiragongo lava lake has drained and refilled several times during eruptions that have occurred in recent decades. In 2002, lava reached the city of Goma, killing dozens of people.

The volcano erupted on January 26, 2011. Flying ash swirled over the city of Miyazaki, causing plane flights to be canceled, trains to stop and schools to close in the area. The image was taken by the Terra satellite on February 4, 2011.

Merapi is one of the most active volcanoes in Indonesia, its height reaches almost 3000 meters. About 50 thousand people permanently live in the region; they cultivate the fertile soil fertilized by lava, but are exposed to the danger that the eruption brings. The photo was taken on August 24, 2003.

At the end of May 2013, the Api volcano awoke on a small island in Indonesia, causing the cancellation of many flights. The column of smoke rose to 20 km in height.

Etna is the highest active volcano in Europe.

After more than 9,000 years of silence, this Chilean volcano woke up again on May 2, 2008. 4,000 residents of the town of Chaiten, located 10 kilometers from the epicenter, were forced to evacuate by ship.

They say that Prometheus was chained to one of the rocks of this particular mountain because he gave fire to people. It was here, according to Homer, that Jason went for the Golden Fleece. There are also legends that it was Elbrus that was the first piece of Earth that Noah encountered after the Flood, and his ship literally hit the peak and split it.

The Elbrus stratovolcano is located some distance from the Greater Caucasus Range (20 km to the north) and is the highest point in Russia. Since there is no clearly defined border between Asia and Europe, many believe that it is the highest mountain peak on the European continent, with an altitude of 5642 meters.

Elbrus was formed somewhat differently than the rest of the Caucasus Mountains, of which it is part: they appeared earlier, about 5 million years ago, and have a folded character. And the volcano was formed later, about 1 million years ago, as a result of complex and long-term geological processes: first the western peak appeared, and then, on the eastern side of the side crater, a second cone began to form. Nowadays, the volcano is not active, but it cannot be called extinct either: manifestations of volcanic activity are still observed here.

What Elbrus looks like

The nature here is diverse: mountain meadows, rare plants and animals, coniferous forests, turbulent rivers leave no one indifferent, and some time ago the Elbrus National Park was created in the area of ​​the volcano, and therefore there is no hunting, no cutting down of forests, no construction here it is forbidden.

At the foot of Elbrus there is a huge number of extremely beautiful gorges, and on the northern side there is the famous Dzhyly-Su tract with mineral thermal springs and beautiful waterfalls from 20 to 40 meters high, among which the Sultan waterfall located in the upper reaches of the Malki River stands out.

On the slope of the mountain, at an altitude of about three hundred meters, there is a huge ice lake, Jikaugenköz. In its middle part rises the Kalitsky Peak, reminiscent of a medieval castle, whose height exceeds 3.5 km, where there is a site with religious sanctuaries, which were created from large stones.

The volcano itself looks like this:

• Elbrus has two peaks, each of which represents two independent volcanoes, connected by a saddle, the height of which is 5.3 km. The distance between the peaks is about three kilometers;
• The eastern, younger cone is slightly lower than the western one, and its height is 5621 m. It has a clearly defined crater with a diameter of 200 meters and a depth of about 80 m;
• The height of the western peak of the almost extinct volcano is 5642 meters, the diameter of the crater is 600 meters, the depth is 300 m, and the upper part of the volcano is partially destroyed;
• The slopes of the mountain are mostly gentle, but closer to the top, starting at 4 thousand km, the angle of inclination increases to 35 degrees;
• On the northern and western side of Elbrus there is a huge number of sheer cliffs about 700 meters high;
• Starting from a height of 3.5 km, the volcano is covered with rocks and glaciers; in total, there are about 70 glaciers on Elbrus, the area of ​​which exceeds 130 km². The water flowing from the glaciers of Elbrus creates three main streams that feed the main rivers of this region - Baksan, Kuban and Malka;
• The surface of the volcano, free of glaciers, is covered with loose rocks;
• Snow cover remains on the top of Elbrus throughout the whole year.

On the northern slope of the mountain, at an altitude of about 3 km, there is a Birjal lava tract with a huge number of remains of melted sand, which, under the influence of precipitation, weathering, and soil erosion, collapsed and created numerous piles of bizarre shapes, forming grottoes and caves. They hang over each other, forming bridges, arches, consoles and, diverging in different directions, taking on various bizarre shapes.

Volcano activity

It is believed that over the entire period of its existence, the active volcano has exhibited volcanic activity about four times, and the age of the oldest volcanic rocks of this mountain is about three million years.

The volcano showed its greatest volcanic activity about 225 thousand years ago, then its activity gradually subsided, and the last time it erupted about two thousand years ago (according to scientists, it was around 50 AD). Despite the fact that this eruption was not recorded anywhere, lava flows up to 24 km and 260 km long dating back to this period were discovered on the mountain. sq. volcanic debris, indicating that the emissions were quite strong.

Although the volcano has not been reminiscent of itself for an extremely long time, volcanologists consider it not extinct, but dormant (active), since it demonstrates active external and internal activity - primarily this is manifested in the release of sulfuric acid and chloride gases on the eastern slopes, as well as in the presence the world-famous mineral thermal springs “Hot Narzan”, the temperature of which reaches +52° C and +60º C (apparently, the magma chamber of the volcano is located at a depth of 6-7 km from the earth’s surface).

Many scientists agree that the volcano is unlikely to awaken in the next two or three centuries.

Some scientists believe that Elbrus may well become active as early as this century (although not earlier than in fifty years), arguing their conclusions not only by the manifestation of fumarolic activity by the volcano, but also because of the colony of green mosses discovered on the western peak of the mountain. The ground temperature in this place was +21ºС, while ambient temperature indicators showed sub-zero temperatures (-20ºС).

Elbrus weather

Not everyone who starts climbing Elbrus will be able to conquer it, especially if he decides to do it in the off-season - in spring or autumn. Closer to the top, even well-prepared climbers can be stopped not only by the severe cold, but also by the terrifying strength of the wind, which knocks them down, gusts reaching 100 km/h.

The most stubborn can, despite the bad weather, reach a height of 4 thousand km, but such weather will stop anyone - snow, storm and temperature of minus thirty degrees; in these conditions, going up is extremely dangerous for life.

Since warm and humid Mediterranean and Black Sea cyclones meet cold Antarctic ones near Elbrus, the climate of Elbrus is extremely changeable: summer heat quickly gives way to bitter cold, and clouds in a few minutes can cover an entire mountain, hiding absolutely all landmarks - and the traveler will have to rely only on his instincts .

Moist air currents coming from the Black Sea cause numerous precipitation on Elbrus, mainly in the form of snow, which at high altitudes can fall at both sub-zero and positive temperatures.

The most precipitation falls here in summer and winter, which is why the most favorable time for climbing is November, when a constant dense snow cover is established, and winter.

The most dangerous period for climbing the volcano is the spring or autumn months: the weather at this time is bad and unstable, and the temperature at the peaks even in May can drop to -50 degrees Celsius. So, several years ago, a group of twelve climbers attempted to climb the volcano at the end of spring. But due to a sharp deterioration in the weather and loss of visibility, the climbers got lost, and then completely froze to death - only one person was able to go down.

Elbrus rescue station

To avoid such situations, it was decided to create a rescue shelter on Elbrus - work began in 2007 and was completed five years later. Construction was not easy, since materials and fastening systems had to be delivered to great heights, which was done using a helicopter. The shelter was first opened in 2010, but a month later a hurricane completely destroyed the building.

Considering the need for such a structure, it was decided to restore the shelter, but make it smaller and more wind-resistant - and by August 2012, the highest rescue shelter on the European continent was built on the saddle of Elbrus (5300 above sea level).

Volcanic eruptions are an interesting but dangerous phenomenon. Rarely does anyone dare to come close to them. And most of the photographs are from the air, which is no less dangerous. Have you seen what eruptions look like from space?

1. Stratovolcano Sarychev

The eruption of the 1,446-meter Sarychev stratovolcano on the Kuril Islands, filmed by NASA astronauts aboard the International Space Station. The shock wave dispersed the clouds, which is why the astronauts were able to take such a detailed and detailed shot.

2. Wolf

Eruption of Wolf, the highest volcano in the Galapagos Islands. The height of the volcano is 1,710 meters, and a lake with several fragile islands has formed directly in its crater. The last eruption began on May 25, 2015.

Klyuchevskaya Sopka Volcano, also known as Klyuchevskoy Volcano, is an active stratovolcano in eastern Kamchatka. This is the highest (4,835 m) active volcano on the Eurasian continent, which is over 7,000 years old.

4. Etna

Etna is the largest European stratovolcano, located on the east coast of Sicily, near the cities of Messina and Catania. Now the height of Etna is 3,329 m above sea level, and it often changes from eruption to eruption.

5. Volcano Merapi

A DigitalGlobe satellite image shows the powerful eruption of Mount Merapi in Indonesia. Recently, a volcanic eruption on the outskirts of the city of Yogyakarta in the central part of the island of Java killed 194 people, 320 thousand residents lost their homes.

In Ancient Rome, the name Vulcan was borne by the mighty god, the patron of fire and blacksmithing. We call volcanoes geological formations on the surface of the land or on the ocean floor, through which lava emerges from the deep bowels of the earth to the surface.

Often accompanied by earthquakes and tsunamis, large volcanic eruptions have had a significant impact on human history.

Geographical object. The importance of volcanoes

During a volcanic eruption, magma comes to the surface through cracks in the earth's crust, forming lava, volcanic gases, ash, volcanic rocks and pyroclastic flows. Despite the danger that these powerful natural objects pose to humans, it was thanks to the study of magma, lava and other products of volcanic activity that we were able to gain knowledge about the structure, composition and properties of the lithosphere.

It is believed that thanks to volcanic eruptions, protein forms of life were able to appear on our planet: the eruptions released carbon dioxide and other gases necessary for the formation of the atmosphere. And volcanic ash, settling, became an excellent fertilizer for plants due to the potassium, magnesium and phosphorus it contained.

The role of volcanoes in regulating the climate on Earth is invaluable: during an eruption, our planet “releases steam” and cools, which largely saves us from the consequences of global warming.

Characteristics of volcanoes

Volcanoes differ from other mountains not only in their composition, but also in their strict external outlines. From the craters at the top of the volcanoes, deep narrow ravines formed by flows of water stretch down. There are also entire volcanic mountains formed by several nearby volcanoes and the products of their eruptions.

However, a volcano is not always a mountain breathing fire and heat. Even active volcanoes can appear as straight cracks on the surface of the planet. There are especially many such “flat” volcanoes in Iceland (the most famous of them, Eldgja, is 30 km long).

Types of volcanoes

Depending on the degree of volcanic activity there are: current, conditionally active And extinct (“dormant”) volcanoes. The division of volcanoes by activity is very arbitrary. There are cases when volcanoes, considered extinct, began to exhibit seismic activity and even erupt.

Depending on the shape of volcanoes there are:

• Stratovolcanoes- classic “fire mountains” or volcanoes of the central type, cone-shaped with a crater at the top.
• Volcanic fissures or fissures- fractures in the earth's crust through which lava comes to the surface.
• Calderas- depressions, volcanic cauldrons formed as a result of the failure of a volcanic peak.
• Panel- so called because of the high fluidity of the lava, which, flowing for many kilometers in wide streams, forms a kind of shield.
• Lava domes - formed by the accumulation of viscous lava above the vent.
• Cinder or tephra cones- have the shape of a truncated cone, consist of loose materials (ash, volcanic stones, blocks, etc.).
• Complex volcanoes.

In addition to land-based lava volcanoes, there are underwater And mud(they spew out liquid mud, not magma) Underwater volcanoes are more active than land-based ones; 75% of the lava erupted from the bowels of the Earth is released through them.

Types of volcanic eruptions

Depending on the viscosity of lavas, the composition and amount of eruption products, there are 4 main types of volcanic eruptions.

Effusive or Hawaiian type- a relatively calm eruption of lava formed in craters. The gases released during an eruption form lava fountains from drops, threads and lumps of liquid lava.

Extrusion or dome type- is accompanied by the release of gases in large quantities, leading to explosions and the emission of black clouds from ash and lava debris.

Mixed or Strombolian type- abundant lava output, accompanied by small explosions with ejections of pieces of slag and volcanic bombs.

Hydroexplosive type- typical for underwater volcanoes in shallow water, accompanied by a large amount of steam released when magma comes into contact with water.

The largest volcanoes in the world

The tallest volcano in the world Ojos del Salado, located on the border of Chile and Argentina. Its height is 6891 m, the volcano is considered extinct. Among the active "fire mountains" the highest is Llullaillaco- volcano of the Chilean-Argentine Andes with a height of 6,723 m.

The largest (among terrestrial) volcano in terms of area occupied is Mauna Loa on the island of Hawaii (height - 4,169 m, volume - 75,000 km 3). Mauna Loa also one of the most powerful and active volcanoes in the world: since its “awakening” in 1843, the volcano has erupted 33 times. The largest volcano on the planet is a huge volcanic massif Tamu(area 260,000 km2), located at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.

But the most powerful eruption in the entire historical period was produced by the “low” Krakatoa(813 m) in 1883 in the Malay Archipelago in Indonesia. Vesuvius(1281) - one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world, the only active volcano in continental Europe - located in southern Italy near Naples. Exactly Vesuvius destroyed Pompeii in 79.

In Africa, the highest volcano is Kilimanjaro (5895), and in Russia it is a double-peaked stratovolcano Elbrus(North Caucasus) (5642 m - western peak, 5621 m - eastern).