Nevado Del Ruiz is a small town in the Northern Andeaz, Western Columbia. On November 14 th 1935 there was a big explosion, the Nevado Del Ruiz volcano had erupted.

20,000 people were feared dead and 28,000 people were devastated.

The Nevado Del Ruiz is 18,000 feet high. This is 12,000 metres. Columbia is one of the most dangerous countries in the world today. Nevado Del Ruiz is the northern most historically active volcano in south America. Nevado Del Ruiz rises 5200km above sea level.

When the eruption started 26,000 feet of smoke shot up into the air. This caused a lot of pollution. Together with heavy rainfall it had burst the banks of river la Languinailla.

Torrents of mud and water went over the town at 11pm. People were standing on roof’s of houses crying with young babies waiting to be rescued.

2hrs after mud had caused an avalanche. Rescuers struggled to the scene. It also took the emergency ambulances 12hrs to get to the scene, this was because the avalanche had washed away 6 of the main road bridges. By morning a layer of mud, up to 8m thick covered Armero and the surrounding areas.

This washed away a total amount of 85% of the town. The avalanche was that strong that it has destroyed several other villages as well.

This is a fictional story of what some of the witnesses might of gone through during this eruption. Rosita of Armero

On November 13th 1985, twelve year old Rosita was awakened by the sound of clattering pottery jars on the dirt floor. As she sat up on the mat bed that she was sharing with her sisters, she felt dizzy. The clay pots were not the only things shaking. Even the floor of Rosita’s adobe was shaking. Outside a roof tile fell to the ground. Rosita cried out. “Hush,” her mama said, “It’s only the volcano shaking.” Rosita lived Armero, a small town 74km (44.5 miles) from the base of Nevado Del Ruiz.

Rosita lay back down on her mat bed. The night was silent now. The clattering had stopped. Still, something did not seem right. Rosita went outside the adobe hut and looked toward the volcano. The night was usually dark. There was a storm brewing in the mountains. Lightning flashed across the sky. Soon rain began to fall, forcing Rosita back into her home. As she sat on her mat, she thought about he volcano. Just yesterday, a white cloud of steam rose from the mountaintop. On nights when the sky was clear, she had seen a warm orange glow. Still the volcano was a long way from Armero, four hours by car over bumpy roads.

Earlier this year some scientists from the city had come to Armero. They took measurements and drew maps. Some of them dug in the ground around the village and looked closely at the soil. The scientists told Rosita’s teacher that mud from the volcano reached Armero 140 years ago. Rosita had been curious. “How do you get mud from a volcano?” she asked. Remembering these things, Rosita was unable to sleep. She lay quietly in her bed when she heard a strange swishing sound, and a sound like twigs snapping.

Her curiosity drove her to the door of her hut. The storm had stopped and the moon was out. Rosita could see the bright orange glow at the top of the volcano top. She looked for the source of the swishing. What she saw made her freeze. A wall of mud filled the trees was rushing towards the sleeping village. As Rosita watched in horror, the mud hit the first of the homes in the village. Rosita screamed, waking the household. Papa grabbed Rosita's little sister.

“Quick, up the hill,” He shouted. The family scrambled to safety just as the mud engulfed their home. In studded silence, they looked out over the valley where the town had been. Everything was gone. Officials from the government of Columbia and reporters from newspapers, radio, and television arrived in the morning. Rescue crews were sent to the scene but were unable to reach those trapped inside mudflows up to 40m (132ft) thick. 23,000 people died that night in Armero, and in villages nearby. Three quarters of the people living in Armero were swept away of drowned in the few minutes it took for the swiftly moving mud to cover the town. Rosita and her family are fictitious characters, but the destruction really happened.

Coolest Erupting Lava. The volcano Oldouriyo Lengai, Tanzania, erupts at temperatures of oC. Common basaltic lavas erupt at temperatures between 1,100 and 1,2000oC. Largest active volcano. Mauna Loa, Hawaii, USA, is the largest active volcano. It has the shape of a broad gentle dome 75 miles long and 31 miles wide (above sea level), with lava lows that occupy more than 1,980 miles of the island. It has a total volume of 10,200 miles3, of which 84% is below sea level.

Oldest volcanic rocks on Earth. Volcanic rocks dated at billion years have been discovered in the Inukjuak area in the northern reaches of the province of Quebec, Canada. The precise dating of the rocks was performed by the University of Quebec, Montreal, and the Simon Fraser University in British Columbia (both Canada).

In 1979, when Voyager 1 flew past IO, (one of the moons of Jupiter) the spacecraft was able to observe volcanic activity on the surface at close range. Volcanoes on IO are far more violent that those on Earth, throwing out sulphurous gas and dust that moves as fast as 200 m.p.h. Because the gravity on IO is much less than Earth, volcanic gases can rise to more than 100 miles above the surface.

By Nicolle White

Mr Manson says.... Some good work and presentation Nicolle but maybe would have been improved with some pictures from the eruption. Also, not sure about using the story about Rosita like this – would have been better if you made your own one up rather than copying mine! A2