Famous Volcanoes

Friday, May 22, 2009

Some volcanoes become famous through stories and legends, some are famous because of the damage they have done.
The first recorded volcano was in the 475.B.C. at Mount Etna in Sicily. Since then it has erupted more than 250 times. In 1979, a new crater opened up without warning and erupted.
The famous volcano Mount Vesuvius in Italy is an extinct volcano. It erupted on August 24, 79 A.D. and 2000 people died when they were buried under ash and mud. Vesuvius has been dormant since 1944. Volcanologists think it might become active again.
In the middle of Mexican corn field, the volcano Paricutin started to form out of nowhere. It erupted until 1852 and has been dormant since then.
On May 18, 1980 Mount St.Helens on the coast of the State of Washington erupted for the first time in 120 years. The eruption was as strong as 30,000 atomic bombs. When the volcano exploded, a huge area was ripped out from its sides and left a big crater. The eruption lasted 9 hours. Sixty people were killed.
Mount Fiji is the highest and most sacred mountains in Japan. It is seen in many Japanese paintings. It is a dormant volcano. It last erupted last in 1707.
The largest volcano in the world is in Mauna Loa in Hawaii. It is 30,000 feet above the ocean floor. It is 60 miles wide at its base. It has erupted 40 times in the last 150 years.
The tallest volcanoes are in Chile, South America. Stomboli in Italy, Yasur in the Pacific Ocean, and Erta’ Ale in Africa are volcanoes that erupt frequently. Furnace peak in the Indian Ocean is the volcano that has erupted the most times in the 20th century. It has erupted 80 times since 1900.