Top Five Famous Volcanoes

Mt. Vesuvius Mount Vesuvius (Italian: Monte Vesuvio, Latin: Mons Vesuvius) is a composite volcano in the Gulf of Naples, Italy. Vesuvius consists of a large cone partially encircled by the steep rim of a summit caldera caused by the collapse of an earlier and originally much higher structure.

Mt. Vesuvius Mount Vesuvius is best known for its eruption in AD 79 that led to the burying and destruction of the Roman city of Pompeii. That eruption spawned a deadly cloud of pyroclastic materials to a height of 20.5 miles, spewing it at the rate of 1.5 million tons per second, ultimately releasing a hundred thousand times the thermal energy released by an atom bomb. An estimated 16,000 people died due to pyroclastic flows. The only surviving eyewitness account of the event consists of two letters by Pliny the Younger to the historian Tacitus.

In 1748 the lost city was rediscovered and excavation was started In 1748 the lost city was rediscovered and excavation was started. Visitors can now walk through the streets and houses and see plaster casts of people and dogs, just as they were when they died in their homes. The original bodies were gone after all these years, but the hardened ash had made perfect molds of the bodies, and plaster can be poured into them to create a 'statue' of the person as he died on that day.

Krakatoa  The Krakatoa Volcanoes erupted and exploded in 1883, causing a massive tsunami and killing an estimated 36,417 people, while simultaneously destroying over two-thirds of Krakatoa island. The explosion is considered to be the loudest sound ever heard in modern history, with reports of it being heard up to 3,000 miles (4,800 km) from its point of origin. The shock waves from the explosion were recorded on barographs around the globe.

Krakatoa Currently, what had been the northern-most of the three pre-1883 Krakatoa volcanoes, Perboewatan, has re-emerged from the ocean, and is the principal force in the on-going formation of a new island, Anakrakatoa, or "Child of Krakatoa".

Mount St. Helens Mount St. Helens is an active composite volcano located in the state of Washington. Mount St. Helens takes its English name from the British diplomat Lord Saint Helens.  This volcano is well known for its ash explosions and pyroclastic flows.

Mount St. Helens Mount St. Helens is most notorious for its eruption on May 18, 1980, at 8:32 am PDT, the deadliest and most economically destructive volcanic event in the history of the United States. Fifty-seven people were killed; 250 homes, 47 bridges, 15 miles (24 km) of railways, and 185 miles (298 km) of highway were destroyed. A massive debris avalanche triggered by an earthquake measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale, caused an eruption, reducing the elevation of the mountain's summit from 9,677 ft (2,950 m) to 8,365 ft (2,550 m) and replacing it with a 1 mile (1.6 km) wide horseshoe-shaped crater.  The debris avalanche was up to 0.7 cubic miles (2.9 km3) in volume.

Mount St. Helens The Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument was created to preserve the volcano and allow for its aftermath to be scientifically studied. Before 1980 During the 1980’s eruption.

Mount Tambora Mount Tambora (or Tamboro) is a composite volcano, on the island of Sumbawa, Indonesia. After a large magma chamber inside the mountain filled over the course of several decades, volcanic activity reached an historic climax in the super-colossal eruption of April 10, 1815  It was an explosive central vent eruption with pyroclastic flows and a caldera collapse, causing tsunamis and extensive land and property damage. It had a long-term effect on global climate. This activity ceased on 15 July 1815.

Mount Tambora

Mauna Loa One of five volcanoes that form the Islands of Hawaii and is the largest on Earth in terms of volume and area covered. It is an active shield volcano, with a volume estimated at approximately 18,000 cubic miles (75,000 km3). The Hawaiian name "Mauna Loa" means "Long Mountain". Lava eruptions from Mauna Loa are very fluid; eruptions tend to be non-explosive and the volcano has relatively shallow slopes.

Mauna Loa