How does the volcanic eruption occur? Volcanoes

The volcano is a geological formation on the surface of the earth's crust. In these places magma emerges on the surface and forms lava, volcanic gases and rocks, which are also called volcanic bombs. The name of such an education received on behalf of the ancient Roman fire god Vulcan.

Volcanoes have their own classification on several grounds. According to their form, they are divided into thyroid, stratovolcanoes   , slag cones and domes. They are also divided into terrestrial, submarine and subglacial at their location.

For the average inhabitant, the classification of volcanoes is much more understandable and interesting in terms of their degree of activity. There are active, sleeping and extinct volcanoes.

The active volcano is an entity erupting in the historical period of time. Sleeping is considered to be inactive volcanoes, on which eruptions are possible, and to extinct ones are those on which they are unlikely.

However, volcanoes still do not agree on what volcano is considered active and therefore potentially dangerous. The period of activity at the volcano can be very long in time and can last from several months to several million years.

Why the volcano erupts

The eruption of a volcano is essentially the entrance to the surface of the earth of hot lava flows, accompanied by the release of gases and clouds of ash. This is due to the gases accumulated in the magma. Among them, water vapor, carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, hydrogen sulphide and hydrogen chloride.

Magma is under constant and very high pressure. This is why the gases remain dissolved in the liquid. Molten magma, displaced by gases, passes through the cracks and enters the hard layers of the mantle. There it melts the weak points in the lithosphere and splashes out.

The magma released on the surface is called lava. Its temperature can exceed 1000 ° C. Some volcanoes emit ash clouds during eruptions, which rise high into the air. The explosive power of these volcanoes is so great that huge blocks of lava, the size of a house, are emitted to the outside.

The eruption process can last from several hours to many years. Volcanic eruptions are referred to as geological emergency situations.

To date, there are several areas of volcanic activity. These are South and Central America, Java, Melanesia, Japanese, Aleutian, Hawaiian and Kurile Islands, Kamchatka, the northwestern United States, Alaska, Iceland and almost the entire Atlantic Ocean.

On our amazing planet there are mysterious phenomena, which are sometimes very difficult to predict. Of course, I was lucky to live in Ukraine, where there are practically no natural disasters. But there are places that are increasingly attacking natural disasters, such as, for example, Japan, the United States and others. One of these catastrophic phenomena is the volcanic eruption.

Before, I could not understand how the volcanic eruption was going on, but watching the consequences and destruction on TV always sympathized with the victims, I wanted to help. But, unfortunately, the only thing that can be done is to study, understand the power of nature, warn about disaster so that losses and destruction are minimal.

How the volcanic eruption takes place

First of all, I tried to identify the main issues:

• how are the   volcanoes;
• results   volcanic activity;
• how regularly erupts.

To understand what a volcano is, you need to determine the cause of its formation

How Volcanoes Form

The cause of the occurrence of volcanoes is hidden in the depths of the Earth. Accumulated there   heat meltsmatter of the earth's core. In those places where the pressure begins to weaken, the incandescent masses become liquid and form magma, that is, a rock that melts and is saturated with gases. Magma makes its way to the earth's surface. The volcano is the place where magma and gases come to the surface. In the upper part of the volcano there is a crater, similar in shape to the funnel.

Results of volcanic activity

Lava   is the main a sign of an eruption. But there are others, such as burning avalanche. It's a huge cloud of dust, black in the daytime, and red at night. The boiling avalanche of red-hot blocks, sand and dust moves with great speed. A very dangerous result of volcanic activity are mud flows.   Water from the crater is mixed with soil, sand, stones and turns into mud. Streams of mud rush to the foot of the volcano at a tremendous speed, washing away everything in its path.

How regularly erupt

Volcanoes can be active, asleep and extinct, depending on how they erupt. The volcano, which is constantly erupting, is called current. Those volcanoes that are not active, but can awaken at any time, are called sleeping. The same volcanoes that have not manifested themselves for thousands of years are extinct.

Unfortunately, not in our power to change natural disasters, but knowing their features, we will be able to protect and prevent the terrible destruction and death of people.

The ancient Romans believed that in the depths of Mount Ethnos in Sicily is the forge of the mighty god Vulcan. When he and his assistants the Cyclops giants are working, an underground buzz is heard, there are columns of smoke and fire. Then all the fire-breathing mountains were called volcanoes. What is a volcano?

Section of the volcano: 1 - focus of magma; 2 - the flow of lava; 3 - the cone; 4 - crater; 5 - channel through which gases, magma rise to the crater; 6 - layers of lava flows, ash, lapilli and loose materials of earlier eruptions; 7 - remains of the old volcano crater

Volcano   It is a conical mountain from which from time to time a hot substance - magma - bursts out. Magma is formed at high pressures and temperatures in the earth's crust and upper mantle (lithosphere). Scientists believe that the process of magma formation occurs during tectonic movements of plates of the lithosphere on its active margins.

Active suburbs   - these are parts of the lithosphere in which the oceanic crust is submerged under a lighter and floating continental crust, forming an inclined plate. The interaction of the plate of the submerged oceanic crust with the continental lithosphere causes the melting of the upper mantle at a depth of 150-200 km. The melt droplets originated here, merging with each other, begin to move upward. At some higher intermediate levels in the earth's crust, they form magmatic foci, and an eruption originates from the uppermost foci.

What is a volcanic eruption?

Eruption   - is the exit to the surface of the planet of the molten matter of the earth's crust and the Earth's mantle, which is called magma.

Magma, rising to the surface, consists of liquid, gas and solid crystals - minerals.

Rising to the surface of the Earth along the supply channel, magma enters the low pressure region. Gases begin to emerge from magma, passing into a normal state and multiply increasing in volume. At the same time, if the evolution of gases takes place very quickly or even instantaneously, then a powerful explosion occurs, if the evolution of gases proceeds gradually, then the eruption proceeds more calmly.

The process of releasing magma from a gas is called degassing of magma. The rate of degassing of magma determines the rate of volcanic eruptions. There are three types of volcanic eruptions.

If the gases are released from the magma relatively quietly, then it pours out onto the surface, forming lava flows. This eruption was called effusive.

Effusive eruption

If gases are released quickly, an instantaneous effervescence of the magmatic melt occurs and it is torn apart by expanding gas bubbles. There is a powerful explosive eruption, which was called explosive.

Explosive eruption

If the magma is very viscous and its temperature is low, then it is slowly squeezed out onto the surface. Such an eruption is called extrusive.

Extrusive eruption

What are the volcanoes

The most common volcanoes of central type   - this is a hill, a hill or a hill with a depression at the top - a crater from which magma comes to the surface. When the volcano erupts, fragments of rock that have been thrown out of it, ashes, spewed lava remain on its slopes. The height of the mountain increases, and with it the crater moves higher and higher.

Another type of volcano - linear, or cracked. Their occurrence is associated with the rise of liquid basaltic magma along a fracture in the earth's crust. Liquid lava spreads over huge areas, forming lava covers. Such a volcano looks like a crack on the surface of the Earth.

Volcanoes are also divided into active, dormant and extinct.

TO current   include volcanoes, which erupted in historical time.

TO slumbering   volcanoes, whose eruptions are not known, but they have retained their form and local earthquakes occur under them.

TO extinct   volcanoes are volcanoes that do not exhibit volcanic activity.

Fracture type volcano in section

Where there are volcanoes

We have already noted that volcanoes erupt when magma enters from the foci of melting into the upper layers of the earth's crust. Melting centers occur most often in zones of deep faults of the earth's crust. Therefore, most of the volcanoes are in zones of intensive tectonic activity - in the Earth's lithosphere. These are the margins of the "continents" creeping on the oceans, when the oceanic crust sinks under the continental or continents "creep" on each other (the shores of the Pacific, the Mediterranean, the Caucasus). It is also a place for the dissolution of the continents by giant cracks - rifts (East Africa).

Santorini Island (Greece) with an active volcano (from the nineteenth century manuscript)

There are about 500 volcanoes on the Earth. About 370 of them are found along the coasts and on the island arcs of the Pacific Ocean (the Aleutian, Kurile, Japanese, Philippine, Sunda Islands) and on the outskirts of the continents of North America, Central America, and the Andes in the west of South America. Nine active volcanoes are located in Antarctica.

The eruption of Nea Kameni volcano near the island of Santorini. Photo of 1926

Several volcanic islands are in the Indian Ocean. In the Atlantic Ocean there are only 45 of them.

In addition to the Pacific zone, there are still two areas of volcanism on Earth. One of them is in Africa, where there are active volcanoes Kilimanjaro in Kenya and Cameroon in Central Africa. There are active volcanoes in Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania. Another area includes the Mediterranean and Asia Minor, as well as Eastern Turkey and Iran.

The eruption of Tolbachik volcano (Eastern Kamchatka)

In Russia, the activity of volcanoes is observed in the regions of Kamchatka and the Kuril Islands. For example, the Avachinsky volcano, located near the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, erupted 16 times in the last 200 years. In 1994, he began to wake up again.

Test yourself

1. What is a volcano and what are the causes of its eruption?
2. What is the volcanic eruption and what are the precursors of the eruption?
3. In which regions of our planet is the largest concentration of volcanoes?

After school

1. Acquire the contour map of the world and apply the active volcanoes known to you, determine the zones of their location.
2. Find on the Internet or in the media a description of the eruption of one of the volcanoes of the beginning of the XXI century.? Write down his detailed description with indication of the type of volcano.

Eruption - active activity of the volcano, dangerous for all forms of life, throwing out on the earth's surface red-hot debris, ash, lava outpouring. The eruption of the volcano can last from several hours to many years. During explosive eruptions a large amount of detrital material is thrown out: volcanic bombs (from pea to 2-3 meters in size), ash. As a result, the release of ash at a high altitude into the atmosphere affects the Earth's weather for a long time. At some eruptions, viscous magma freezes in the crater of the volcano, without pouring out.

The volcano emits gases, liquid and solid substances with a high temperature. This often causes the destruction of buildings and deaths. Lava and other red-hot eruptive substances flow down the slopes of the mountain and burn out everything they meet on their way, bringing innumerable sacrifices and staggering material losses. The only protection against volcanoes is a general evacuation, therefore the population must necessarily be familiar with the evacuation plan and unquestioningly obey the authorities if necessary.

In 1883, in August in Indonesia, on the island of Krakatoa (800 m high), one of the most famous and powerful volcanic eruptions occurred, the echoes of this event were heard even for 3,500 km. in Australia, and a year after the eruption the sky was adorned with extraordinary, colorful divorces. Eighteen cubic meters of lava and a huge wave, 35 meters, dashed hundreds of coastal towns and cities of Java and Sumatra, resulting in the death of 36,000 people.

There are about 600 active volcanoes on Earth. The highest of them are in Ecuador (Cotopaxi - 5896 and Sangay - 5410 meters) and in Mexico (Popocatepetl - 5452 meters). In Russia, there is the fourth highest volcano in the world - Klyuchevskaya Sopka, which is 4750 meters high. One catastrophic eruption occurred on May 8, 1902 on the island of Martinique in the Caribbean Sea. The day before, the Soufriere Volcano woke up on a neighboring island, killing 2,000 people. Residents of the town of Saint-Pierre on Martinique did not hear in this threat to themselves - only two thousand people were evacuated. And in the morning of the next day three explosions brought down the incandescent lava and ash to the town. The city completely burned down, 30 thousand people died.

Klyuchevskaya Volcano

In the history of catastrophes, one more terrible eruption takes place - Vesuvius. August 24, 79 on the Neopolitan Bay there was an explosion that buried three cities under a layer of ash, lava and boiling mud: Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabia. On that day, 10 thousand people died.

Almost all manifestations of volcanic activity are dangerous. Of course, the danger of boiling lava or bombs. But no less terrible is ashes, which penetrate literally everywhere. Imagine a continuous gray-black snowfall that floods streets and ponds, doors of houses. Roofs, crumbling under its weight. Pompeii died exactly like this: under a layer of ash at 7-8 meters.

The volcano is dangerous not only during the eruption. Crater boiling sulfur can remain for a long time under an externally strong crust. Dangerous and acidic or alkaline gases, which resemble fog. However, even ordinary carbon dioxide kills all life.
The valley of death in Kamchatka (in the Valley of Geysers) accumulates carbon dioxide, which is heavier than air, and wolves, foxes, hares or birds often die in this lowland. It is interesting that a person can go through such a trap without even noticing - if it turns out to be above the layer of heavy gas.

The eruption of the volcano Pinatubo

Modern science quite accurately predicts volcanic eruptions. Almost on every active volcano there are stations or devices that allow you to monitor the life of the fiery mountain. The usual solution to the threat of a catastrophe is the evacuation of neighboring towns and cities. However, sometimes it is possible to argue with the elements. For example, in 1983 on the slope of the famous Etna it was possible to create a directed channel for lava by explosions, which saved the nearest villages from the threat.

As a consoling example, we can cite the history of the struggle of the inhabitants of the Icelandic town of Weistmannaeyar with their volcano, which arose on January 23, 1973. About two hundred men left after the evacuation, sent firefighters on the lava crawling to the port. Cooling off from the water, the lava was stone. Powerful jets of sea water from the dredger, which entered the port, joined the fight. Then pipelines were installed, it was possible to save most of the city, the port, and no one was hurt. True, the struggle with the volcano dragged on for almost six months.

Here are the steps to take when you do not need evacuation:

• do not panic, stay at home, shutting doors and windows;
• if someone needs help, then leave the house, putting on warm clothes, preferably non-flammable, protecting the nose and mouth with a moistened cloth;
• do not hide in basements so as not to be buried under a layer of dirt;
• do not use the car;
• do not call, but get information on the radio;
• stock up on water;
• to ensure that the fall of hot stones does not cause fires, which should be immediately extinguished, at the first opportunity - to clean the roof of the ash;
• invite experts to test the stability of the building.

British scientists believe that humanity can die as a result of a giant volcanic eruption. According to Stephen Self of the Open University of Great Britain in an interview with the electronic magazine LiveScience, there is no way to prevent a catastrophe. Geophysicists claim that some volcanoes are capable of eruptions hundreds of times more powerful than those observed ever. Cataclysms of this magnitude, however, have already occurred on Earth - long before the emergence of civilization.

Yellowstone National Park

Previously, American geologists discovered a relatively shallow layer of volcanic ash in the Yellowstone National Park. The culprit of his appearance is considered the eruption of exceptional strength, which happened about 620 thousand years ago. Monument to this event is a giant funnel - caldera, which formed after the destruction of "devastated" volcanoes. The consequences of the giant eruption are described in detail in the report submitted to the working group on natural disasters under the British government. Large enough territories are buried beneath a layer of lava, and dust and ash released into the atmosphere make it difficult for the sun to access the earth's surface, which affects the global climate. As Michael Rampino of the University of New York showed in his study, the "overthrow" of the Toba volcano on the island of Sumatra, which occurred 74 thousand years ago, led to a significant cooling and death of three quarters of the flora of the Northern Hemisphere.

Volcanic eruptions

Scientists believe that the second stage of the process of formation of the Earth's crust, the surface of our planet was completely covered with volcanoes. But those volcanoes that can be seen now have nothing to do with this distant period. They were formed not so long ago, in the Quaternary period, that is, at the last stage of geological history, continuing to this day.

According to the definition, a volcano (from the Latin vulcanus - fire, flame) is a geological formation that appears above the channels and cracks in the earth's crust, during which volcanic eruptions are caused by hot lava, ash, hot gases, vapors and rock fragments . Today, scientists have not come to a consensus on the structure of the mechanism that causes eruptive volcanoes, the nature of underground energy, and also about other problems related to volcanic activity. Much remains unclear for now, apparently, it will take a long time before a person can say that he knows everything about the driving forces of volcanic eruptions.

The modern view of what the life cycle of volcanoes is, is as follows. In the very depths of the earth's interior, huge layers of overlying rocks are pressed against the heated rocks. According to physical laws, the stronger the pressure, the higher the boiling point of the substance, so the magma, which is far from the earth's surface, is in a solid state.

However, if we ease the pressure on it, it will become fluid. In those places where the earth's crust is stretching or contracting, the pressure exerted by the rocks on the magma falls and a zone of partial melting is formed. There are such zones in hot spots, which are described in more detail below. Semi-molten rock, which has a lower density than the surrounding solid, begins to rise to the surface, forming giant drops-diapirs. The diapir slowly goes up, with the pressure on it decreasing, and as a consequence, more and more matter in the giant drop turns into a molten state. Having risen to a certain depth, the diapir becomes an igneous chamber, or in another way, a focus of magma serving as a direct source of volcanic activity. The molten rock may not erupt immediately, but remain inside the crust. It will be cooled, thus the process of separation of magmatic substance into layers will take place: more dense substances will harden first and settle on the bottom of the chamber. The process will continue, and the upper part of the reservoir will be occupied by light minerals and dissolved gases. All this will for a while be in an equilibrium state. As the gases are separated from the molten substance, the pressure in the magma chamber will increase. At a certain moment it can go beyond the boundary of the strength of the overlying rocks, then the magma can make its way and come to the surface. This exit will be accompanied by an eruption. Sometimes water can get into the hearth, and a huge amount of water vapor is formed and a powerful volcanic explosion will inevitably sound. If a new portion of magma unexpectedly enters the chamber, mixing of the settled layers will occur and a rapid process of isolation of light components will occur, which will cause a sharp increase in intra-chamber pressure. The eruption can be a consequence of tectonic processes - such as an earthquake, because in this case, cracks can be formed that open the focus of magma, the pressure inside it immediately falls, the contents of the chamber rushes up.

The focus of magma is connected with the Earth's surface by a channel. There are processes similar to what happens when we open a bottle of champagne. Everyone probably knows how it happens: the gas comes out of the bottle under great pressure, knocks out the cork, gives out cotton, and the jets of the carbonated drink fly to the ceiling. But magma is denser than champagne, a substance that has a high viscosity, so the gases make it not only foam, but also tear it apart by tearing it out.

Leaked on the surface of the lava, solidifying, forms a cone-shaped mountain, which also consists of fragments of rocks and ash. However, the volcanic mountains are not growing to infinity. Along with the process of elevation, from time to time the phenomenon that destroys the top of the volcano is observed, the cone collapses and the caldera forms - a cauldron basin with round slopes and a flat bottom. Caldera is a Spanish word, literally meaning "big pot". The mechanism for the appearance of the caldera is this: when the volcano ejects everything from the magmatic reservoir immediately below the summit, it is emptied, and the walls of the crater are deprived of internal support, then they collapse and a giant pit is formed. Calderas can be truly huge, for example the whole Yellowstone National Park - the caldera. It happens that the caldera is filled with water and a large crater lake is formed. An example is Lake Creutere in Oregon, which is a caldera of a volcano, the eruption of which occurred about 7 thousand years ago. Quite often happens that inside the caldera the dome starts to grow again, which means that the volcano begins a new cycle of active life.

Doctor of Geological and Mineralogical Sciences E. Markhinin describes his feelings from the encounter with the active volcano: "I come to the edge of the crater and stop, enchanted: from the bottom of the gloomy hollow, red-hot incandescent slag fly through the pairs of fumaroles with a crash and thunder ... We see at the bottom of the crater two black, like heaps of coal, slag cones several tens of meters in height. In the center of the cone, small round fiery-yellow holes are gaping, from which jets of red-hot slag and volcanic bombs are continually bursting ... Many bombs fly to a height of more than three hundred meters.

Explosions shake the body of the volcano ... In total darkness in the eastern part of the huge crater glows a long fire stripe. This lava flow ... We can freely and long to look into the very mouth of erupting craters, which few people are lucky enough to have. "

Scientists have identified several different types of volcanic eruptions:

1. Plinian type - lava is viscous, with a high content of gases, it is difficult to squeeze out from the vents. At the same time, the gas accumulates and explodes - huge masses of ash and volcanic bombs fly up to a multikilometer height, so a giant black column of ash and gases, called the Plinian column, appears on top. The eruption of Vesuvius is a typical example of this kind of natural cataclysm.

2. Peleic type - lava is very viscous. It practically closes the muzzle, closing the way upward to volcanic gases. Mixed with red-hot ash, they find a way out in another place, breaking through a hole in the mountainside. It is this type of eruption that generates terrible scorching clouds, consisting of hot gas and ash. The best example of this type of eruption is the Mont-Pele volcano.

3. Icelandic type - eruption occurs through cracks. Liquid lava flows from small fountains, flows quickly, can flood vast areas. An example is the eruption of Lucky volcano in Iceland in 1783.

4. Hawaiian type - liquid lava flows pour out only from the central vent, so these volcanoes have very gentle slopes. This type includes the volcanoes of Hawaii. In particular, the fire-breathing Mount Mauna Loa.

5. Strombolian type - the eruption is accompanied by fireworks of volcanic bombs, a blinding glow and a deafening crash during the explosions. Lava, poured by volcanoes of these types, has a more viscous consistency. A striking example is the volcano Stromboli in Italy.

6. Bandai type is a purely gas eruption. Strong explosions thrown to the surface fragments of rocks, pieces of old frozen lava, ash. This is how the Japanese volcano Bandai erupts.

Since ancient times, various peoples have legends about the amazing mountains that spew fire. The first information about volcanoes, which reached us, date back to the middle of the first millennium BC. A man who has ever witnessed this, without exaggeration, the grandiose natural phenomenon that gives birth in the soul a mixture of chilling horror from destructive force and admiration from the dazzling beauty of the spectacle, could never forget what he saw, and his story about this would undoubtedly be passed down from word of mouth. Many generations carefully preserved memories of these terrible catastrophic events. And now the volcanoes, the eruptions of which remained in the memory of mankind, are conditionally called acting. The rest are considered extinct or asleep, although the second is more accurate, since the sleeper can wake up, which is not so rare with volcanoes. Considered long extinct, they suddenly become operational, an eruption occurs, the power of which is directly proportional to the duration of the deep sleep stage. These volcanoes are the cause of the biggest, most tragic catastrophes. Here are a few examples. The volcano Bandai-san (Japan), waking up in 1888, destroyed 11 villages. The volcano of Leamington (New Guinea) claimed 5,000 lives in 1951. It is believed that the most powerful eruption of the XX century is the explosion of the Nameless Volcano (Kamchatka), it was also considered extinct.

On land volcanoes are located in strictly defined areas, which are characterized by high tectonic mobility, that is, it is possible to change the form of occurrence and volume of rocks. In these zones there are often earthquakes of various strengths, sometimes bearing terrible destructive consequences.

The largest tectonically active zone is the Pacific Fire Belt, numbering 526 volcanoes. Some of them are in a state of rest, but the eruptions of 328 volcanoes are a historical fact. This ring includes the volcanoes of the Kuril Islands, Kamchatka, there are 168. Among them, one can single out the largest and most dangerous volcanoes Klyuchevskaya, Ksudach, Shiveluch, Narymskaya, and, finally, the Nameless one that we have already mentioned.

Another extensive volcanically active area is a ring that includes the Mediterranean, the Iranian plateau, Indonesia, the Caucasus and Transcaucasia. Especially many volcanoes in the Indonesian Sunda archipelago are 63, with 37 of them considered to be active. The Mediterranean volcanoes of Vesuvius, Etna, Santorino are notorious to the whole world. While they "sleep", but at any moment they can remind of their existence, Caucasian five-thousanders Elbrus and Kazbek, Iranian handsome Demavend. Not far from them, the Transcaucasian Ararat "slumbers" under the huge thickness of ice and fluffy snow.

The third largest volcanic zone is a narrow strip stretching along the Atlantic Ocean, which includes 69 volcanoes. Eruptions of 39 of them are documented. 70 percent of the active volcanoes of this zone are located on the mid-ocean ridge line in Iceland. These are active, often erupting volcanoes.

The smallest volcanically active zone occupies an area in East Africa. It has 40 volcanoes, 16 of them are active. The height of the largest volcano in this region is about six thousand meters, it is the famous mountain Kilimanjaro.

Outside these zones of volcanoes on the continents is almost none, but the ocean floor of all four oceans is filled with a huge number of volcanic formations. Although it should be noted that underwater have a significant difference from ground-based - a flat top and are called guillotas. Apparently, once they also had a conical shape, but the waves of the oceans, eroding, destroyed the part protruding above the surface. The volcanoes with a flat surface received in this way later descended on the ocean floor. Especially "rich" guillotines Pacific Ocean.

Vesuvius

For the first time in the history of mankind, a detailed description of the grandiose natural catastrophe caused by the most powerful eruption of the volcano was given by the Roman scientist Pliny the Younger. Of course, writing to the Roman historian Tacitus about the death of his uncle, the famous scientist and naval commander Pliny the Elder, Pliny the Younger could not have imagined that in this way he would tell the whole world about the tragic events associated with the eruption of Vesuvius volcano that many subsequent generations will read with unending interest lines that tell of the terrible death of the once flourishing Roman cities of Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabia. The Romans knew that Vesuvius was a volcano. This mountain was at that time the right cone-shaped form, on its flat top there was a crater overgrown with grass, but there were no mention of its eruptions, and the Romans believed that the volcano fell asleep forever. A terrible eruption might not have such tragic consequences if people paid attention to the warning given to them by nature itself: in 69 AD an earthquake occurred in the vicinity of Vesuvius, which destroyed part of Pompeii. But the inhabitants of Pompeii did not feel the danger and rebuilt their city.

16 years later, in 79 AD, they apparently bitterly regretted it. Still, most people managed to escape death, they all left the city as soon as the first signs of impending disaster appeared. Thanks to the writer's talent and love for the scientific accuracy of the youth of Pliny the Younger, one can vividly imagine what happened on August 24, 79 AD. The work of this boy was the first document of volcanology, modern science about the causes of volcanoes formation, their development, structure, composition of eruptive products and regularities of location on the Earth's surface. "On August 24, about one o'clock in the afternoon, on the side of Vesuvius," wrote Pliny, "a cloud of extraordinary magnitude appeared ... in shape it resembled a tree, namely a pine tree, for it evenly extended upwards by a very high trunk and then expanded into several branches ... After some time, began to fall rain from the ashes and pieces of pumice, burned and cracked from the heat; the sea is much shallow. Meanwhile, from Vesuvius, in some places, wide tongues of flame burst out, and a huge pillar of fire rose up, the brilliance and brightness of which increased due to the surrounding darkness. " All this was accompanied by earthquakes, the strength of which was increasing, and the quantity of pumice pieces erupted by Vesuvius also grew; The amount of hot ash that fell at the same time was such that the ashen cloud completely obscured the sun and the day turned into night.

There was an absolute darkness, similar, according to Pliny, to "the darkness that sets in the room when the light is extinguished." In Stabia ashes and pieces of pumice almost completely filled the courtyards of houses. Even a few kilometers from Vesuvius people were forced to constantly shake off the ash themselves, otherwise they would perish, covered with ashes or even crushed by it. Pliny said: "All the objects were covered with ashes, like snow." In Pompeii, the fallen layer had a thickness of about three meters, that is, the whole city was completely covered with volcanic sediments. As already mentioned, the majority survived, but about 2 thousand people remained buried, perhaps even buried alive in a huge common grave, the size of the whole city. The reasons for the deaths of these people could be very different: someone hesitated and could not get out of the crowded house or cellar, someone choked with acrid smoke, and maybe because of a lack of oxygen in the air. Volcanic ash, hardened, retained the skeletons, and more often molded bodies and clothing of these people, household items and utensils. Thus, this terrible event gave our scientists invaluable material, helped to study in detail the culture, way of life and customs of that distant, inaccessible era for us. Ashes and pieces of pumice had time to cool down, flying long enough to the ground, so there were almost no fires in the city. It turned out that during the eruption of Vesuvius, so much liquid magma was exhausted from it, that the mountain top disappeared, collapsing into the emptiness formed, and the enormous pit-crater that appeared at that time-had a width of about three kilometers. This once again demonstrates the tremendous power that this widely known volcanic catastrophe had. Three years later, Vesuvius woke up again, but this time he was not so menacing. All subsequent years, he also continued to actively act, constantly recalling his existence.

And in 1794 a new very strong eruption occurred. His eyewitness was the twenty-year-old Christian Leopold von Buch, who later became a well-known German geologist, in particular, the author of important works on volcanology. Apparently, this event left an indelible mark on his soul and influenced his subsequent choice. Here is how he describes what happened: "On the night of June 12, a terrible earthquake occurred, and then from morning till night in all Campagna the earth fluctuated, like sea waves ... Three days later a terrible underground blow was heard ... Suddenly the sky lit up with a red flame and luminous pairs . A fissure formed at the foot of Vesuvius's cone ... a deaf but strong noise came from the mountain, like the roar of a waterfall falling into an abyss. The mountain wavered, and after a quarter of an hour the earthquake intensified ... The people did not feel the hard ground under them, the air was full of flames, scary, never heard sounds from all directions. Struck by the horror of the people rushed to the church ... But nature did not listen to pleas; In the volcano, new lava flows appeared. Smoke, flames and vapors rose above the clouds and spread out in all directions in the form of a huge pine. After midnight, the continuous noise ceased; the earth stopped shaking and the mountain wavered; lava poured out of the crater at short intervals ... explosions followed less and less, but their strength doubled ... After midnight on the other side of the volcano, the sky suddenly lit up with a bright light. Lava, which caused devastation on the southern side of the mountain, now rushed along the northern slopes into a wide gorge.

In the vicinity of Naples, the lava swiftly swept the slopes. Residents of the towns of Rezina, Portici, Torre del Greco and others watched in horror every movement of the fiery river that threatened the one or the other village ... Suddenly the lava rushed to Rezina and Portici. In Torre del Greco, the whole population rushed to the church, thanks to God for their salvation; in a burst of joy they forgot about the inevitable death that awaited their neighbors. But the lava met on its way a deep ditch and again changed direction, rushing to the unfortunate Torre del Greco, who considered himself already saved. The fiery stream swept furiously now along steep slopes and, without splitting into sleeves, in the form of a river two thousand feet wide it reached a flourishing city. All eighteen thousand inhabitants rushed to the sea, seeking there salvation. From the shore it was seen how, above the roofs of the lava-filled houses, there were pillars of black smoke and huge fire tongues, like lightning. Palaces and churches fell with a noise, a mountain thundered terribly. A few hours later there was no trace of the city, and almost all the inhabitants died in a fiery stream. Even the sea was powerless to stop the lava; The lower parts of the lava flows froze in the water, and the upper streams flowed along them. At a great distance water boiled in the sea, and the fish cooked in water poured large piles on the surface of the water.

The next day has come. The fire no longer escaped the crater, but the mountain was not yet visible. A black thick cloud lay over it and a dark cover spread over the bay and over the sea. In Naples and its surroundings, ashes fell; he covered grass and trees, houses and streets. The sun was devoid of brilliance and light, and the day resembled the twilight of the dawn. Only in the west there was a bright band, but the darker it seemed darkness enveloping the city ... Little by little the eruption ceased. The lava began to harden, in many places it cracked; The couples saturated with table salt rose rapidly; At the edges of the cracks, a brightly lit flame could be seen in places. There was a continuous noise resembling the rumbling of distant thunder, and lightning, penetrating the black clouds of rain falling from the volcano, broke the night gloom. With their light, it was clear that these huge masses were bursting from a large crater on top of a mountain. They rose in a thick black cloud and blurred at altitude. Heavy stone debris fell back into the crater. The first cloud followed the second and third, and so on; To us the mountain seemed to be dressed as a crown of clouds, arranged in some kind of peculiar order. "

Finally, the ashen rain turned from gray to white, and it became clear that the terrible eruption was coming to an end. And so, 10 days later Vesuvius fell silent, although the ashes showered the city for several days.

Santorini

The legendary Santorini volcano, a grandiose eruption of which occurred in 1470 BC, is in the Aegean Sea, north of the island of Crete. It is with him that some prominent scientists associate the famous myth about the death of Atlantis. Therefore, a detailed account of this unique in its destructive power eruption is placed in the chapter devoted to the question of the existence of the ancient civilization of the Atlanteans.

Dobrich

It is absolutely unpredictable to consider the eruption of the mountain Dobrich, located near the town of Belyaka in Bulgaria. Nobody, even volcanologists, could imagine that such a catastrophe is possible in these parts, because nothing like this ever happened before. However, in January 1348, the mountain Dobrach suddenly turned into a fire-breathing volcano, a strong eruption occurred. Victims of a unique natural disaster for these places were 11 thousand people, residents of 17 nearby settlements. By the way, all the 17 villages were completely destroyed by the firing element, only gray dead ashes remained in their place.

Lucky

Iceland is not without reason called the country of volcanoes, because there are 40 fire-breathing mountains in a relatively small area.

In 1783 there was an eruption of the Icelandic volcano Laki, which has the original form of a crater - in fact, it is a whole line of volcanic vents about 25 kilometers long. Volcanoes, having a similar structure, usually emit a very large amount of lava during eruptions. Lucky this time allocated a truly colossal portion of molten material, it is believed that this was the most volatile volcanic eruption in the world. It did not start suddenly, warnings were given to earthquakes and gas jets. And then, on June 8, steam fell from the vent and cracked and ashes fell. A few days later, the process of lava evolution began. The first lava flows poured from the southwestern end of the crater gap, by the end of the month the lava began to flow out and from the northeastern side of the giant crack. The flow of lava came to the valley of the river Skaftar with a thirty-meter wall, he managed to advance 60 kilometers. The width of the front of the distribution of the fiery mass along the flat coastline was 15 kilometers. Lava was so much that it completely flooded this valley, the thickness of the layer of volcanic material reached 180 meters. In the next valley of Hverlielflout, the stream of lava is 50 kilometers deep. For six months this eruption continued, during which time Lucky singled out about 12 cubic kilometers of magma, the heated streams of which destroyed 13 farms, flooded an area of ​​560 square kilometers. Lava has a small spreading speed, a physically healthy person can escape from the fiery danger. Fatalities during the eruption itself were few. But the more distant consequences of this catastrophe were truly terrible. Hot lava flows melted glaciers, rivers that had already changed their path due to changes in the magmatic relief of the terrain, and spread widely, the flood covered vast areas of agricultural land. Ashes, dropped out in large numbers, lay on fertile soils and ruined all vegetation. The air was filled with cloudy clots of poisonous gases, only a quarter of the domestic animals survived in these conditions. Iceland XVIII century was isolated from the rest of the world, and food aid to the population from the outside was not provided. A monstrous tragedy awaited the country: a fifth of its population, that is, about 10 thousand people, died out. The death toll was so great, because trouble, as they say, does not come alone: ​​an unusually severe winter was added to the terrible famine.

Tambor

In 1812, the Indonesian volcano Tambor, located on Sumbawa Island, awoke from a dream, gas emissions were reported, and eventually they thickened and darkened. But before the volcano began to act actively, it was neither more nor less than three years. And on April 5, 1815, there was a deafening explosion, the roar of which was heard almost fifteen hundred kilometers away, while the blue sky was covered with huge black clouds, an ashen rain showered on Sumbawa and the surrounding islands: Lombok, Bali, Madura, Java. From 10 to 12 April, strong explosions were repeated several times, powerful jets of volcanic emissions again flew into the air: dust, ash, sand - their small particles clouded the sky, blocking the path to the sun's rays. A vast area, populated by millions of people, was immersed in impenetrable gloom. On the island of Lombok, all vegetation was destroyed, the greenery of the gardens and fields disappeared, its place on the island was occupied by a sixty-meter layer of ash. The force of the eruption was colossal - the volcano threw five-kilogram stones at a distance of forty kilometers. Tambor was a four-thousandth, after the eruption its height dropped by 1150 meters, as 100 cubic kilometers of rocks were crushed and thrown by the volcano into the air. Formed a giant caldera with a depth of 700 meters, a diameter of approximately 6 kilometers. This terrible catastrophe killed 92 thousand people.

Krakatoa

In the second half of the XIX century, one of the most grandiose world catastrophes occurred - the eruption of the volcano Krakatoa. The part of the mountain Krakatau, which rose above the water, was the largest island in the archipelago, the size of this land was 9 by 5 kilometers. It had three craters connected to each other: southern - Rakata, about 800 meters, northern - Perbuatan, about 120 meters and central - Danan, about 450 meters. Nearby were several more small islands, among them Lang and Ferleiten. All these islands were parts of a volcano-two-thousandth, the destruction of which occurred at that time when a person could not record the events that took place, that is, in prehistoric times. These islets were not inhabited. But, although not so often, but close to them were trading and military ships, sometimes these places were visited by fishermen from Sumatra. Due to the uninhabited nature of this area, the exact time of activation of Krakatoa is unknown.

However, the testimony of the sailors of the German ship Elizaveta was preserved, on May 20, while sailing along the Sunda Strait, they saw a huge cloud, shaped like a mushroom and almost 11 kilometers high, rising over the crater of Krakatoa. In addition, the ship fell into the ash falls, despite the fact that it was quite far from the volcano. The same observations were made by members of the crews and other ships that had passed Krakatau for the next few days. Periodically, the volcano exploded, while the soil vibrations were felt in Batavia, today renamed Jakarta.

On May 27, residents of Jakarta noted that Krakatoa was particularly a buoy - every 5-10 minutes from the central crater there was a terrible rumbling, smoke was falling off a column, ashes and pieces of pumice were falling.

The first half of June was relatively calm. But then the activity of the volcano again increased sharply, and on June 24 the ancient rocks that bordered the central crater disappeared, the crater pit increased significantly. The process continued to grow. On August 11, all three main craters and a large number of small craters operated, they all threw away volcanic gases and ash.

The morning of August 26 was wonderful, but a strange annoying noise suddenly appeared to dinner. This monotonous unceasing rumble did not allow the residents of Batavia to fall asleep. At two o'clock in the afternoon the Medea ship was going along the Sunda Straits, from its side it was seen how the ashen streams shot up into the sky, their height was assumed to have reached 33 kilometers. At 5 pm the first tsunami wave was recorded - the result of crater wall collapse. The same evening the villages, located on the island of Sumatra, slightly powdered ash. And the inhabitants of Angers and other coastal towns of Java found themselves in pitch darkness, it was almost impossible to make out anything, from the sea came an unusually strong noise of waves-huge, boiling water shafts fell on the shore, erasing villages from the face of the earth, hurling them at the devastated coastal strip small ships.

The volcano came into force: massive stone boulders flew out of its mouth with gas streams and ash, like stone pebbles. The ash falls were so abundant that at two o'clock in the morning the deck of the ship "Berbis" was covered with a meter layer of volcanic ash. Flashes of lightning, deafening peals of thunder accompanied this great eruption. Eyewitnesses said that the air was so electrified that touching metal objects could cause a strong electric shock.

By the morning the sky cleared, but not for long. Soon the darkness again swallowed up this area, the untimely impenetrable night lasted 18 hours. A full set of products of volcanic activity: pumice, slag, ash, as well as thick mud, - began an offensive on the islands of Java and Sumatra. And at 6 o'clock in the morning the low-lying coastal zones again attacked powerful waves.

At 10 am on August 27, the most violent explosion of Krakatau took place, it had (without exaggeration) a colossal force. On the 70-80-kilometer height, huge masses of detrital rocks, ash, and also powerful jets of gas and steam are thrown out. All this was spread over an area of ​​one million square kilometers. Some scientists believe that the smallest particles of ash scattered around the globe. The consequence of this terrible explosion was the giant waves, the height of these destructive, deadly water walls reached a thirty-meter mark. Falling all their monstrous power on the inhabited islands, they swept away everything in their path: roads, forests, villages, cities. The water element has turned into ruins of the city of Angers, Bentham, Merak. Most affected by the natural disaster of the island of Sebesi and Serami, almost all of their population was washed away by surging water. Only a few of the sea returned alive. But it can not be said that on this their misadventures ended, they had to struggle for a long time with the wildlife spree for their lives. Again the ground came down to the ground. At 10.45 there was a new monstrous explosion, fortunately, this time the sea did not support him with its terrible excitement. At 4:35 pm people heard a new rumbling roar, the volcano reminded people that its stormy activity was not yet complete. Until the morning, continued to fall, more and more new explosions, a stormy wind howled, causing the sea surface to worry. With the rising of the sun, the sky cleared, volcanic activity subsided.

However, the volcano continued to operate until February 20, 1884, on that day the last explosion occurred, which completed this monstrous catastrophe, which claimed the lives of 40 thousand people. Most of these people died in the waves of a giant tsunami. The largest wave, generated by this explosion, has bypassed almost the entire World Ocean, it was recorded in the Indian Ocean, Pacific and Atlantic. The shock wave formed during the colossal explosion, even at a distance of 150 kilometers from the epicenter, had such power that on the island of Java windows were broken, the doors were torn off the hinges and even pieces of plaster fell. The roar that was heard during the explosion was heard even in Madagascar, that is, at a distance of almost 4800 kilometers from the volcano itself. No eruption was accompanied by such a powerful sound effect.

This is amazing, but after that the eruptions of the coast of the islands of Sumatra and Java have completely changed: once picturesque regions, favorite recreation places for tourists around the world, now represented a deplorable picture - a bare earth covered with gray mud, ash, pieces of pumice, fragments of buildings, trunks of uprooted trees , the bodies of drowned animals and people.

The island of Krakatau, whose area was 45 square kilometers, disappeared, now only half of the ancient volcanic cone towered above the sea surface. The eruption of Krakatau provoked the emergence of atmospheric cataclysms - in the vicinity of Krakatoa terrible storms raged. Also barometric instruments were recorded that the air wave generated by the eruption, three times rounded the globe.

Another striking phenomenon was the consequence of this great eruption, it was observed in Ceylon, Mauritius, the west coast of Africa, Brazil, Central America and some other places. It was noticed that the sun had acquired some strange greenish shade. This amazing coloring gave the solar disk the presence in the upper layers of the atmosphere of very small particles of volcanic ash. Other very interesting phenomena were also noted: the dust sediments that lost ground in Europe, were of volcanic origin, and coincided in chemical composition with the dust emissions of Krakatau.

The eruption dramatically changed the relief of the seabed. Products of volcanic activity formed on the site Krakatau island area of ​​5 square kilometers, the island of Ferleiten increased due to the same volcanic outpourings of 8 square kilometers. One of the islands simply disappeared, instead of it two new ones appeared, which later also disappeared under water. The surface of the sea was cluttered by floating pumice islands, it was possible to break through the congestions formed by them only to very large vessels.

Krakatoa though calmed down, but did not fall asleep. A column of smoke is rising from its crater. His new volcanic cone Anak-Krakatau, which is now weakly erupting, began to grow at the end of 1927.

Mont Pele

Among the small Antilles, located in the Caribbean, there is the island of Martinique. Among other things, it is noteworthy for the fact that in its northern part is the notorious Mont-Pele volcano. Information about its first eruptions dates back to 1635. During the following centuries, its volcanic activity proceeded sluggishly. After 50 years of almost absolute tranquility, at the beginning of the 20th century, a new eruption of Mont-Pele erupted, which was unexpectedly disastrous not only for the local flora and fauna, but also caused the painful death of tens of thousands of people. A detailed description of this catastrophe was made by the famous geologist Academician A.P. Pavlov.

And everything began, as it seemed, inoffensive. On the slopes of Mont-Pele, numerous hot springs have been discovered. Then the inhabitants of the town of Saint-Pierre, just six kilometers from the volcano, felt the underground excitement, and the monotonous unpleasant noise broke the natural silence. The local population, having shown curiosity, went to the top of the mountain, they saw that the water in the crater lake was boiling. The volcano was active: in the darkness of the night bright flashes could be seen over the top, from inside came a noise that grew louder. The ash falls also intensified. On May 17, the ash flour covered the whole western slope, animals and birds, without food, died, their corpses could be found everywhere.

On May 18, a new trouble arose: a hot mud stream poured down the bed of the Belaya River, it swept with great speed and instantly destroyed the sugar factory located on the seashore. Here is the terrible story of an eyewitness of the tragedy: "At 10 minutes of the first I hear screams. They sound the alarm. People run past my house and scream in horror: "The mountain is on!" And I hear a noise that can not be compared to anything, a terrible noise, well, just a devil on the ground ... and I go out, look at the mountain ... Above the white clouds, a couple with a black avalanche descends more than 10 meters high and 150 meters wide ... The whole thing is broken, sunk ... My son, his wife, 30 people, a large building - everything is carried away by an avalanche. They are approaching a frenzied onslaught, these black waves, they are approaching like a mountain, and before them the sea recedes. "

On May 21, the volcano seemed to be calming down, but on the top of the volcano there was still a giant column of light gray smoke. At first it was light and clear, but gradually the ash rain became stronger. The ashen column at the top turned into a silver fan-shaped cloud of enormous dimensions. Soon came twilight - these clubs of dark smoke enveloped the city. Residents of Saint-Pierre had to use artificial lighting. The soil fluctuated, a roar could be heard from under the ground. At 7 o'clock 50 minutes a deafening explosion sounded, followed by several less powerful blows. A huge mass of volcanic emissions was divided: smaller ash and gases rose higher, larger and heavier particles formed a monstrous black cloud, inside of which flashed the fiery zigzags of lightning. This terrible education rolled down the slope directly to Saint-Pierre. Only three minutes it took him to get to the city. Outside observers claimed that "the city was instantly burnt by fire." The edge of a scorching cloud hit several crews climbing a hill. Those who were closer to the fire formation, just disappeared without a trace, the same who was far away, managed to survive, although they received severe burns and were shell-shocked. The scorching cloud, which appeared so suddenly, suddenly "having done its black work," melted right before our eyes. The darkness receded, and the witnesses of the tragedy saw that Saint-Pierre was turned into a huge dead ashes, on which here and there flames could be seen greedily devouring what could have escaped.

Of the 18 vessels anchored in the harbor, were destroyed 17. Only the ship "Roddan" was able to leave the bay. The captain of the ship Freeman said later that at about 8 am he was in his cabin. The passengers of the ship stood on the deck and watched as the volcano let out into the sky thick clouds of smoke and bundles of light. Suddenly there was a terrible rumble, a strong wind blew up, chased large waves across the sea, the ship began to sway. The captain rushed to the deck, and then the ship covered a hot wave, its temperature reached 700 degrees. Freeman compared the incident with a blow on the ship of a huge hammer. From the scorching cloud went lava rain. The heat was terrible, it became completely impossible to breathe, the air seemed to burn everything inside. Many, looking for salvation at sea, rushed overboard. Others, suffocating in the cabins, decided that on the deck they would manage to get a portion of fresh air, but there they were expected to die, the air was hot. The captain, trying to find a way out of the difficult situation, decided to give a full turn back, and here "Roddan" crashed into the flaming steamer "Roraima." The last thing the captain saw from the board of the departing port of Roddan was the glowing streets of the city of Saint-Pierre and the people, in agony of agony, tossed among the fire-covered buildings. Freeman managed to bring the ship to the pier of the island of Santa Lucia. The deck of the steamship was covered with a six-centimeter layer of ash, half of the people on the ship perished. The bodies of surviving passengers and crew were covered with terrible burns. Unfortunately, almost all these people died from severe wounds, not having lived two days, only the captain and the driver won in the fight against death.

Here is another terrible testimony to what happened. Passenger steamship "Roraima", it was with him collided when leaving the harbor "Roddan", Thompson was one of the lucky ones who managed to survive in this fiery hell. He said that there were 68 people on the "Roraim". Most of them went to the deck to see what was happening on top of the volcano. Of course, it was a fascinating unmatched spectacle, not everyone succeeds in life in becoming an eyewitness of such a grandiose natural phenomenon. One of the passengers decided to capture the eruption on film. Suddenly, an eerie sound, like the roar of thousands of large guns that shot simultaneously, cut through the air. The sky was lit up by a mighty fiery flash, Captain Mugg ordered to be anchored off urgently. But he was late, a monstrous fiery cloud had already reached the bay and had breathed into the ship with his burning scorching heat. Thompson ran into the cabin, the ship threw from side to side, the masts collapsed, the pipes fell like cut pipes. Fiery ashes and red-hot lava clogged the eyes, mouth, ears of all who remained on the deck. People were blinded because of the instantly fallen pitch darkness and were deafened by the roar. They died from suffocating heat, it was impossible to help them, it was a painful, painful death. Although someone managed to survive only because the fiery whirlwind lasted only a few minutes. However, the consequences of it were terrible: the bodies of the burned people carpeted the deck, in several places a fire broke out on the ship, the wounded could not bear the infernal pain, they shouted for help. The flames enveloped the ship, most of those who were on board perished. Only a few people miraculously survived, nearly seven hours after the catastrophe, which occurred around 8 am, these people were picked up by the steamer "Suchet", who arrived from Fort-de-France.

Two more days passed before there was an opportunity to get into the city. That's what people saw when they came to the bay: the water surface was covered with fragments of the pier and ships, as well as the burnt corpses of the dead. The steamer "Roraima" was still burning. The beautiful city of Saint-Pierre did not exist any more, the delightful vegetation that surrounded him disappeared without a trace. Before the eyes of the people appeared a gray, lifeless desert. Ashes covered everything, only here and there were charred trunks of trees, as well as black ruins of houses, lightly powdered with the same silvery ash dust. Strange, more like a winter, the landscape was complemented by clubs of dense white steam rising above the top of the now gray mountain. Attempts to get into the city center did not succeed - the ashes, covering the ground, were so hot that it was impossible to walk on it. Less affected, if you can say so, because the whole city was destroyed, the northern part of Saint-Pierre. Here, the trees and wooden parts of the buildings were not burned so much, the glass did not melt. Apparently, here the fire avalanche passed casually. In the central and southern parts of the city, everything burned, the trees turned into black bogs, the glass melted, the bodies of people charred, it was impossible to identify them. Of the 30,000 residents of St. Pierre, only two survived. The first was a prisoner, he was kept in an almost sealed death cell in a local prison. His body was badly burned. Before he was found, he spent three days without food and water. The second chosen one was a shoemaker who was in a disaster in his own house. He owes his life to the gentle breeze of a breeze, suddenly breathing freshness in his direction at the most terrible moment. Everyone who was next to him died in agony. Here is his brief, horrifying story: "I felt a terrible wind ... Hands and feet were burning ... Four of the nearby were screaming and writhed in pain. After 10 seconds the girl fell dead ... Father was dead: his body turned red and swelled ... I was crazy, I was waiting for death ... An hour later the roof burned ... I came to and ran. "

However, this volcano did not calm down, continuing to act actively. And more than once over Mon-Pele formed terrible scorching clouds. Thus, on June 2, 1902, over the ruins of a dead city, a fiery hurricane flashed again, and more powerful than the first.

Twenty days later a new strong eruption occurred and the volcano spawned another hot whirlwind. The English scientist Anderson described this amazing phenomenon so: "Suddenly our attention was attracted by the black cloud that appeared over the crater ... It did not rise upward, but kept for a while at the edge of the crater near the crevice and for a long time kept its shape ... We looked at it for a while and, noticed that the cloud does not stand still, but rolls down the mountainside, gradually increasing in volume. The further it rolled, the faster its movement became ... It was impossible to doubt that this ash cloud, and it goes directly to us. The cloud descended the mountainside. It became immeasurably larger, but still had a rounded shape with a swollen surface. She was black as a resin, and through her strips of lightning flashed. The cloud reached the northern edge of the bay, and in the lower part of the bay, where the black mass touched the water, a strip of lightning flashed continuously. The speed of the cloud's movement decreased, its surface worried less and less - it turned into a big black cover and we were no longer threatened. "

On September 12, the volcano again threw out a deadly fiery cloud, the edge of which reached the Red Hill, the previously burning whirlwinds did not pass over this territory. Victims of the new disaster were 1500 people.

Scientists believe that the scorching cloud consists of an emulsion mixture of hot gases and hot lava dust. The speed of its movement is enormous, it can reach 500 kilometers per hour, which is why this amazing formation is so dangerous for a person and in general all living things-it is impossible to escape from it.

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