The most powerful volcano. The most powerful volcanoes of the planet

The most terrible natural disasters include an earthquake, a hurricane, a tsunami, a flood and ... a volcanic eruption. Fortunately, these disasters do not happen often, but losses from them can reach millions of dollars, and sometimes billions.
  Among the volcanoes it is very difficult to identify the most dangerous, because no one knows when and how a particular crater behaves. In the past, each of them caused unbelievable harm to the surrounding lands, each leading to the deaths of hundreds or even thousands of people. Among the most dangerous volcanoes   on our planet note:

  1. Vesuvius volcano. This Italian monster has terrified civilians more than 80 times. In 79 BC he destroyed entire cities, among which were Pompeii. The flow of lava from its last eruption in 1944, 800 meters high, demolished absolutely everything in its path, and the dust height then reached 9 kilometers.

  2. The volcano of Santa Maria. In Guatemala, it is better known as Gagxanul. For the first time, the 3772-meter titanium made itself felt over 30 thousand years ago, but, for all that, for a long time it did not behave itself at all. But in 1902, from his explosion, which was heard more than 800 kilometers from the hearth, more than 6,000 people died.

  3. The volcano of Nyiragongo, which is in the Republic of the Congo. Only in the last 130 years there were 34 eruptions of this volcano, the most destructive of which occurred in 1977. Then several hundred people died.

  4. And yet, the most dangerous volcano in the world - Merapi. This volcano is located in Indonesia, its height reaches 2914 meters. Serious eruptions are expected about once every seven years, and not serious - every two years. He repeatedly became the cause of death of both scientists and ordinary tourists. For thousands of years of its existence, it destroyed hundreds of cities and claimed thousands of human lives. Once in the 17th century, the Merapi volcano withered all life within a radius of 18 kilometers.

The Earth is an amazing planet, on which there are many very beautiful and unusual places that can suddenly turn into the most terrible places on Earth. This can be said about the Yellowstone volcano, located in the National Yellowstone Park in the USA, in the state of Wyoming, which is fairly justly called the super volcano of our planet.

It is the most powerful volcano on Earth, which is a terrific attraction of America, attracting a huge number of tourists, but recently it begins to wake up, and its eruption, according to some experts, can lead to the end of the world.

In March 2014, the media reported that the Yellowstone volcano, related to the dormant super volcanoes, began to show activity. Constantly fixed underground tremors (about 60), the most powerful occurred on 03/03/2014, its strength was about 5 points. Also, the temperature in the springs in the Yellowstone Park increased sharply, and the animals began to leave hastily, which always occurs before eruptions or earthquakes that threaten their lives.

The Yellowstone volcano does not have a crater like ordinary volcanoes. It is a giant caldera (55 km by 72 km), beneath which is a huge bubble of 800-degree magma. Researchers say that lately instruments are recording the seething of magma.

If such a machine begins to erupt, then for mankind a nuclear bomb will seem like a child's toy, because the eruption force of a super volcano will be equivalent to an explosion of 1000 atomic bombs.

Yellowstone has erupted many times over the past several million years, three times there have been very powerful eruptions. The first occurred 2 million years ago. It raised clouds of dust and ash to fifty-kilometer height, the volume of emissions amounted to 2500 cubic kilometers, which covered the whole of North America. This is the largest natural disaster in the history of our planet! According to scientists, as a result, many species of animals and plants disappeared and the climate changed. The second eruption happened 1.3 million years ago, it was somewhat more modest (if you can say so): only 280 cubic kilometers of emissions. The third eruption was 640 thousand years ago, as a result of it the top of the volcano failed, forming a caldera. After the eruption of the century, the lake of Yellowstone was formed in the center of the caldera.

The first symptoms, evidencing the awakening of Yellowstone, were discovered in 2006. It is noticed that in some places of the park soil begins to rise, which speaks of volcanic activity.

Scientists believe that, most likely, all these signs indicate a possible earthquake, the consequences of which will be less destructive than the eruption of the supervolcan. If the latter happens, then the vast territory of America will be burned with lava, the clouds of ash will fall into the atmosphere and close the Sun, therefore, the planet will experience a cooling and global pollution of the atmosphere. Perhaps the eruption can also trigger a shift in the Earth's axis, which will lead to a series of earthquakes at other ends of the Earth, and this is catastrophic for many countries, but, of course, America will be the most vulnerable.

US scientists are constantly monitoring the activity of the volcano, while, they believe, there is no reason for panic, but local residents are not soothing.

One of the first recorded volcanic eruptions in history, which caused great human casualties, was the eruption of Vesuvius in the year 79, covered with volcanic ash from the cities of Pompeii, Stabia and Herculaneum. Of all the dangers that humanity faces, volcanoes are the most dangerous geological formations on the surface of our planet.

A special organization at the UN even compiled a list of the most dangerous volcanoes of recent decades. Based on the list and other information, make a rating and find out what the most powerful volcano on earth in the history of mankind.

Merapi. Indonesia

Over the vastness of Java at an altitude of 2,914 meters is the crater of the most dangerous volcano of Southeast Asia. Eruptions Merapi are fixed by specialists with a regularity of 7 years.

Merapi lets out smoke every day, not letting people forget that they can wake up at any moment. One of the last major catastrophes happened in the mid-1970s, when the lava was covered by the village, and 29 people were killed.

Koryaksky. Russia

In 35 kilometers from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky over the hills of Kamchatka the stratovolcano of Koryaksky rises. For today it is one of the most large volcanoes   Russia.

Koryaksky, which was formed about two and a half million years ago, periodically reminds itself of ash emissions and eruptions.

In 2008, from the western slope there was an ejection that was visible from nearby villages, and the smoke trail stretched more than 100 kilometers.

Teide. Spain

On the Spanish island of Tenerife is a beautiful volcano Teide. It is noteworthy that this mountain is the highest point of Spain and conceals, in spite of its beauty, its potential danger.

The island itself is one of many volcanic formations off the coast of Spain. For the time being, Teide is not active, and the last time disturbed the neighborhood in 1909.

If it wakes up, and seismologists do not rule out such an opportunity, it will be an unpleasant surprise not only for the Spaniards, but for the entire south of Europe.

Santa Maria. Guatemala

In the mountain massif in the west of Guatemala there is a volcano with a beautiful and romantic name Santa Maria. Despite the innocuous name, in the history of the mountain there were powerful lava outbursts, and explosions were heard over 700 kilometers.

Then, in 1902, more than 6,000 people died, and today it is potentially dangerous for the people of Guatemala. After all, at any time, Santa Maria can wake up, having demonstrated its nature by the release of thousands of tons of lava and ash.

Santorini. Greece

In the XVII century BC. catastrophic in its power eruption of the volcano Santorin destroyed the Minoan civilization on the island of Crete, and served as the birth of legends about Atlantis.

And the tsunami that followed the eruption reached the shores of Greece and flooded the Aegean coastal cities.

The very island of Tire has significantly changed its shape. The crater failed, forming a convex caldera, which immediately flooded the sea.

Etna. Italy

The largest active volcano in Europe is located on the east coast of the island of Sicily among the most beautiful landscapes of the Mediterranean.

It carries a potential danger if several craters are activated at the same time, and there are about four hundred of them by different estimates.

The last major release of lava and volcanic ash occurred in 2011. But if you believe the ancient Greek myth, the goddess Athena crushed the Ethnical giant Enkelad, and the eruption is the fiery breath of the defeated titan.

Taal. Philippines

On the island of Luzon, just 50 kilometers from the capital of the Philippines, the city of Manila, the active stratovolcano spread its slopes.

Now Tal is asleep, and in his crater formed a beautiful little lake, which pleases the beauty of those who rise to the top. But the last time it erupted in 1965, which killed about 200 people.

But at the beginning of the 20th century, a small volcano of the planet caused a great disaster. Within 10 minutes within a radius of 20 kilometers, all life was lost, and ash emissions were visible hundreds of kilometers from the island.

Ulawun. Papua New Guinea

The active volcano, formed during the Pleistocene from basalt and andesite rocks.

Since the moment when Ulavun began to observe 22 powerful volcanic eruptions occurred.

And from the last it is worth noting the disaster of 2007, when there was a powerful release of magma. A large number of   Ashes then settled on the green slopes of the mountain and in nearby settlements.

Udzen. Japan

Now Udzen on the Japanese peninsula of Simabara is considered among the seismologists as weakly active, and at one time made a lot of noise in the region.

The powerful eruption of Unzen was recorded back in the Middle Ages, in 1663. But 119 years later, its activity caused a tsunami, as the sources with a wave height of 55 meters record. As a result, natural disaster   15 000 people died.

In 1991, during a research expedition, lava covered 43 seismologists and representatives of the media, who at the time of the lava were on the gentle slopes of the mountain.

Popocatepetl. Mexico

In the language of Nahuatl, this name translates as "a smoking hill", and today it is one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the ridge of the Mexican mountains.

For a long time it was believed that Popocatepetl, like his brother Istaksiatl, was extinct, but at the end of the 20th century he began to show activity.

The danger is that more than 20 million people live around the mountain range, where the stratovolcano is located, and in case of a powerful eruption a large-scale evacuation operation will be required.

Yellowstone. USA

For several years Yellowstone has been keeping in suspense not only the scientific community, but the whole of mankind. Quite often this caldera in the northwest of the USA is called a super volcano, but it is impossible to calculate the potential power and danger of this geological formation.

But no matter how it was, Yellowstone is considered today, albeit in the future, the most powerful volcano in the world.

As a result of a powerful eruption of about 650,000 years ago, the Yellowstone caldera was formed, and many believe it is the possible cause of the end of the world.

The volcano on the island of Isabela in the Pacific Ocean for many centuries keeps the population of the region in suspense.

Sierra Negra, according to estimates of seismologists and researchers of the Earth's geological structure is the most powerful volcano in the world. There are many catastrophes associated with it, and the last time the residents were evacuated because of its activity in 2006.

The Ecuadorian giant has a thyroid shape, and is often the cause of seismic activity in this part of the Pacific Ocean.

Conclusion

As we see, from time to time volcanoes show their violent character, carrying death to all living things in the region and presenting a potential danger to Mankind.

Many millions of years ago the most powerful volcanic eruptions formed the surface of the earth's crust, and even today they cause small shifts of tectonic plates. And, for example, in 1963, as a result of the eruption in Iceland, a new island appeared.

15. The Merapi volcano in Indonesia is one of the largest and most dangerous volcanoes in the world. Large eruptions are observed on average every 7 years, small - about 2 times a year. The volcano smokes almost every day, letting the local residents know that it is ready to begin direct execution of duties at any moment. In the 19th century, there were 9 powerful eruptions, in the first half of the 20th century - 13. In 1930, when the eruption killed about 1300 people.

14. The last strong eruption of Colima volcano in Mexico was observed on June 8, 2005. Then the ejected ash rose to a height of more than 5 km, which forced the authorities to evacuate people from nearby villages. The volcanic mountain consists of 2 conical peaks, the highest of them - dormant volcano, and another peak - active volcano   Colima height of 3846 m, called the Mexican Vesuvius. Colima erupted more than 40 times since 1576 and today carries a potential threat not only to the inhabitants of nearby cities, but all of Mexico.

13. Stratovolcano Santa Maria is in western Guatemala. After 500 years of sleep during the eruption in 1902 because of him, 6000 people died. Most people were crushed by a deadly shower of stones, some of which weighed more than a ton. The explosion was so strong that it was heard even for 800 km in Costa Rica. Volcanic ash covered an area of ​​323 thousand square kilometers and climbed to a height of 29 kilometers. This eruption is considered the largest in the history of volcanic emissions into the atmosphere.

12. The crater of the active Taal volcano in the Philippines is at an altitude of only 350 meters above sea level. A small lake formed in the crater. Taal is the smallest active volcano   planet, but do not underestimate its strength. On January 30, 1911, the most violent eruption of the Taal volcano occurred in the 20th century, 1335 people died. For 10 minutes. all living things ceased to exist at a distance of 10 km. A cloud of ashes were seen from a distance of 400 km. The last eruption took place in 1965, killing about 200 people.

11. The Udzen Volcano in Nagasaki is currently considered to be weakly active. However, volcanic activity has been recorded since 1663. The eruption of the volcano in 1792 is among the five most destructive eruptions in the history of mankind in terms of the number of human casualties. As a result of this catastrophe, 15 000 people were killed because of the tsunami which was caused by the eruption, the wave height reached 23 meters. And in 1991 43 scientists and a journalist were buried under the lava, which slid down the slope of the volcano.

10. One of the largest and most dangerous volcanoes in Popocatepetl is located just an hour's drive from Mexico City. The height of the volcano above sea level is 5,500 meters. For a long time the volcano was considered extinct, but at the end of the 20th century it began to wake up. And in 2011 this volcano again made itself felt by the eruption.

9. Nyiragongo volcano, 3469 meters high, is located in the mountains of Virunga in central Africa. The main crater of the volcano is 250 meters deep and 2 km wide; it sometimes forms a lake of lava. Lava Nyiragongo is unusually liquid and fluid. During the eruption, lava flows flowing along the slope of the volcano can reach a speed of 100 km / h. By regularly inflicting destruction on the volcano, in 2002 alone, 147 people died, caused damage and left several thousand people homeless.

8. The Mauna Loa volcano, located in Hawaii, is considered to be the largest volcano in the world and belongs to a group of megavolcans. Its volume is 75,000 cubic kilometers, and the diameter of the crater is 6.2 × 2.5 km. On the volcano there is a volcanological station, where constant observations have been conducted since 1912. The last eruption of this giant occurred in 1984, and one of the strongest - in 1950, completely destroyed the Hawaiian village.

7. The Galeras volcano is located in South America on the territory of Colombia. The height of the volcano reaches more than 4 km above sea level. In 2010, due to the threat of a major eruption from the surrounding settlements, more than eight thousand residents were evacuated. In the region, the alarm was declared the highest "red" degree. In 1993, during the research works   In the crater, six geologists died when the eruption began.

6. The Sierra Negra volcano on the Galapagos is also on the list of the most dangerous and large volcanoes in the world. Sierra Negra has the second largest crater in the world with a diameter of 11 kilometers, the altitude above sea level is 1124 meters. The last powerful eruption of the Sierra Negra occurred in 2005.

5. The volcano Ulawun is on the island of New Guinea. This is one of the most frequently erupting volcanoes in the world. At first the volcano was invisible above the water surface and caused the strongest tsunami, erupting under the water. But in 1878 he rose under the pressure of faults in the earth's crust, after which overground eruptions began. One of the most dangerous eruptions   occurred May 28, 1937, when the capital of the country was literally covered with ashes. In total, 22 volcanic eruptions occurred from the beginning of the 18th century. The last eruption occurred in 2007.

4. The volcano of Sakurajima is in Japan and almost constantly causes alarm among residents. In 1914, as a result of the eruption of the volcano, the island on which Sakurajima is located ceased to be an island. A large amount of magma, rushing into the bay, connected it with the mainland. And from the eruption of 1779 killed more than 140 people. Due to its activity, the volcano is one of the most popular tourist attractions. The last eruption occurred in 2010.

3. The active volcano Etna in Sicily is also one of the largest and most dangerous volcanoes in the world. As a result of lateral eruptions, Etna has 400 craters. On average, once every three months, the volcano erupts lava. In 2008, the eruption of Etna lasted 419 days, and in 1928 - only a few days, but destroyed the town of Mascali. The longest eruption of Etna began in 1614 and lasted 10 years, forming Monte Nero - Black Mountain.

2. Vesuvius volcano, located in Naples, is one of the three active volcanoes in Italy. Vesuvius is the only active volcano in continental Europe. There are information on more than 80 significant eruptions, the most famous of which occurred on August 24, 79 AD, when the ancient Roman cities of Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabia were destroyed. One of the last strong eruptions   occurred in 1944.

1. The volcano in Yellowstone Park in the US, the main culprit of the end of the world in the film of 2012, is considered potentially the most powerful volcano in the world. Scientists this miracle of nature is classified as a super volcano - that is, many times more powerful than ordinary ones. Presumably, the three strongest volcanic eruptions of Yellowstone have already occurred in history. The gap between the eruptions is 600 thousand years, and according to preliminary estimates, 640 thousand years have passed since the last eruption. In 1959, there was an earthquake in Yellowstone with a magnitude of 7.5 points, at which 28 people died. Volcanologists say that in the aftermath of the eruption a global cooling, hunger and large-scale cataclysms are waiting for the planet.