A volcano is an opening, or rupture, in a planet’s surface or crust, which allows hot magma, volcanic ash and gases to escape from the magma chamber below the surface. They are generally found where tectonic plates are diverging or converging. A mid-oceanic ridge, for example the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, has examples of volcanoes caused…
FORCES OF NATURE Photograph by Martin Rietze @ Alien Landscapes on Planet Earth This incredible photograph by Martin Rietze was NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day for March 11, 2013. In it we see the Sakurajima Volcano erupting with lightning (check out this vid for another example). According to NASA, it is…
New Zealand’s Most Active Volcano Photograph by x-oph on Flickr Whakaari/White Island is an active stratovolcano, situated 48 km (30 mi) from the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand, in the Bay of Plenty. It is New Zealand’s most active cone volcano, and has been built up by continuous…
Nick Selway is a 28-year-old professional photographer from Lake Stevens, Washington. During college with no declared major, Nick decided to take a photography class that would change his life. He had found his purpose and passion and moved to Kailua Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii after graduation. Selway and his best friend,…
Lava tubes are natural conduits through which lava travels beneath the surface of a lava flow. Typically they are expelled by a volcano during an eruption and can be actively draining lava from a source; or they can be extinct, meaning the lava flow has ceased and the rock has cooled and left a…
Lava refers both to molten rock expelled by a volcano during an eruption and the resulting rock after solidification and cooling. When first erupted from a volcanic vent, lava is a liquid at temperatures from 700 to 1,200 °C (1,292 to 2,192 °F). Up to 100,000 times as viscous as water, lava can flow…
A crater lake is a lake that forms in a volcanic crater or caldera, such as a maar; less commonly and with lower association to the term a lake may form in an impact crater caused by a meteorite, or in an artificial explosion caused by humans. Sometimes lakes which form inside calderas are…
Puyehue Volcano, Chile – Photograph by CLAUDIO SANTANA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES The recent photographs from the volcanic eruption in Chile stirred up memories from last year’s disruptive volcano in Iceland as well as the incredible undersea volcano in Tonga the year prior. When volcanoes erupt, it’s a startling reminder to the awesome and terrifying power of…
Supercell Thunderstorm in Montana – Photograph by Sean Heavey From violent volcanoes to horrifying hurricanes, Mother Nature’s fury is a sight to behold. With so much human conflict and suffering, we often underestimate the awesome and destructive power of nature. While the science behind these events is utterly fascinating, the consequences can be dire and…
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