PART I - Assetsassets.cambridge.org/97805215/54534/excerpt/9780521554534_exc… · water volcano of Kavachi and much to their delight found it spewing ash, forming a new, temporary

PART I

Choosing a volcano to visit

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Why go to a volcano?Active volcanoes are the ultimate adventure destina-tion. Those who have been lucky enough to witness afire-fountain spouting red lava high into the sky or bil-lowing clouds of steam rising as lava pours into theocean will testify that volcanoes provide one ofnature’s most awesome spectacles. Volcanoes areimpressive, spectacular, and have a profound effect onlife on Earth. Active volcanoes allow us to experiencethe thrill of hearing a loud explosion which can makethe ground shake at our feet, to gaze at the crackingand shifting of a lava lake’s surface, and to smell thestrangely appealing sulfur odor. Even when they aredormant, volcanoes offer a wide variety of beautifuland strange sights, ranging from the majesty of snow-capped cones to the barren lava wastelands that haveoften been compared to Hell.

Volcanoes are definitely a destination for those of uswho are adventurous travelers. We are no longer apeculiar group made up of daring eccentrics, but agrowing number of intelligent people who are notcontent with spending our vacations in quaint seasidetowns. Exotic and unusual destinations are increas-ingly within our reach. In recent years, the travelingpublic’s growing interest in adventure as well as inecology has led to a wave of “nature tours” rangingfrom safaris and whale-watching to shark diving andtrekking in the Amazon forest. This trend should even-tually make volcanoes one of the most popular desti-nations on Earth. A trip to a volcano has the potentialto be a memorable adventure as well as a first-classlesson in how our planet works and even, in manycases, how history was made.

A trip to a volcano is a challenge to the mindbecause it gives us the opportunity to see a major geo-logic process at work. Out of the four fundamentalgeologic processes that shape the Earth’s surface – vol-canism, erosion, tectonism, and meteorite impacts –

volcanism is the only one we can easily witnessmaking rapid changes in the landscape. Volcanoes canbe very cooperative: they can erupt gently for longperiods of time, making it possible for us to plan a tripspecifically to see the action. For example, the Italianvolcano Strómboli has been nearly continuously activefor centuries, while Kilauea in Hawaii is currently onits third decade of delighting visitors with an excep-tionally “watchable” eruption.

Volcanoes shape not only the Earth’s surface but alsothe course of human history. Eruptions have con-tributed to the downfall of civilizations, changed thecourse of wars, and, more frequently, destroyed wholecities killing thousands of inhabitants. On the positiveside, volcanoes make fertile lands that are the source oflivelihood for numerous people all around the globe.One of the most interesting aspects of visiting avolcano is learning how its eruptions have affected thelocal people and their culture. Equally fascinating is tofind out how the current population views thevolcano: feelings run from pride to terror, dependinglargely on the frequency and character of the predomi-nant eruptions.

Even those who live far away from active volcanoesare vulnerable to their effects. Large eruptions, such asthat of the Philippines’ Mt. Pinatubo in 1991, canlower temperatures around the world. These eruptionsinject large amounts of sulfur gases into the stratos-phere, where they combine with moisture to produce athin aerosol cloud. The cloud causes some sunlight tobe deflected, causing slight decreases in average surfacetemperatures around the world. Although suchchanges are small (very rarely as much as 1 °C) and donot lead to major climatic effects, it is possible thatlarge eruptions may have more profound effects on theEarth. There are indications that the amount of chlo-rine injected into the stratosphere by these eruptionsmay contribute to the depletion of the Earth’s ozone

3

1 Volcanoes of the world






layer. This problem is still being studied and raisessome serious concerns, because we cannot stop erup-tions happening.

Given the major importance of volcanoes on thepast, present, and future history of our planet it is notsurprising that so many people become interested inthem, often from a young age. Many children are asinterested in volcanoes as they are in dinosaurs andspace. Volcanoes have the distinct advantage of beingneither extinct nor unattainable to most people. Theyare all over the Earth to be visited and explored. Forthose still wondering whether volcanoes are worth-while traveling destinations I offer the followingreasons: volcanoes deepen our understanding of howthe Earth evolves and how humans interact withnature’s forces. Volcanoes are magnificent in reposeand thrilling in action, when they allow us to experi-ence the sounds and sights of nature at work.Volcanoes appeal to our intellect, our sense of adven-ture, our appreciation of natural wonders, and our fas-cination with danger (Fig. 1.1). As many youngsterswould agree, a visit to an active volcano would ranksecond in excitement only to a trip into space – ormaybe one to Jurassic Park.

Volcanic toursWhat are the world’s most interesting active volcanoesand where are they located? Our planet has many vol-canoes that are considered active – about 600 on landand many more under the sea. On average, about 50volcanoes erupt each year and about a dozen or moremay be active in any particular month. Most peopledon’t hear about these eruptions, either because they

are small or because they occur in isolated places anddo not have a significant local or global impact. Theeruptions that grab the headlines are those whichcause loss of life or major economic disasters. If youare determined to see an erupting volcano, you willneed to choose either a persistently active volcano(such as Strómboli in Italy) or one that has just begunerupting, and hope that the activity will last until youarrive. Chapter 5 discusses how you can find out aboutcurrent activity and how to choose a volcano to go to.For now, I’ll borrow an idea from my late friend PeterFrancis and take us on an imaginary journey to theEarth’s most volcanic regions. We will follow the platetectonic boundaries (discussed in Chapter 2) andbreak the journey into four volcano world tours: theRing of Fire, the mid-Atlantic, Africa, and theMediterranean. Time and money are no object; we willimagine ourselves to be wealthy volcanologists on sab-batical leave.

The Ring of Fire and the Pacific OceanVolcanically speaking, this is the Earth’s busiest side.The volcanoes that mark the Ring of Fire – over 1,000of them – are located in no fewer than four continentsand span a wide variety of scenarios, climates, and cul-tures (Fig. 1.2). A good starting point for our journey isthe scenic North Island of New Zealand, one of theworld’s prime volcanic areas. This is where the mostviolent eruption in historical times took place: theTaupo eruption of AD 186. What we know about thiscataclysmic event has been pieced together from geo-logic studies of the immense ash flow deposits, as nohistorical records exist. If people lived in the island at


Fig. 1.1. Volcanic eruptions are some ofnature’s most awe-inspiring events andsome, like this one from Kilauea volcano inHawaii’s Big Island, can be watched andphotographed safely. (Photograph by theauthor.)






the time, they didn’t survive to tell their story. Thesedays the Taupo–Wairakei area offers thermal baths andgeothermal power stations, and Lake Taupo Caldera asreminder of the eruption. Aside from the record-settingTaupo, North Island has other volcanic areas that havebeen active more recently, if rather more sedately.These include Ngauruhoe, a frequently restless andnearly perfectly shaped volcano and Ruapehu, whoselatest activity was a small mudpool eruption in 2001.Ruapehu has hiccups every few years, sometimessending mudflows (also known as lahars, anIndonesian word) down the slopes, but this has notstopped New Zealanders from building ski runs on theside of the volcano. Both Ngauruhoe and Ruapehu arelocated inside the Tongariro National Park which hasgood facilities for visitors. The Rotorua–Tarawera areaoffers a variety of volcanic landscapes, The Taraweracomplex of rhyolite domes erupted spectacularly in1886, burying three villages. This, however, was aminor event compared with what could happen againin the island. The Waiotapu thermal area is a well-known tourist attraction, and the town of Rotorua iswithin a large geothermal area. For the more adventur-ous, a visit to White Island is recommended. You canget there by boat or helicopter, but get some local

information first and a guide. White Island is veryactive, there are mudpools and fumaroles, and newcraters form often (there is one crater named DonaldDuck). A strong and unexpected explosion in July2000 covered half the island with a thick layer of ashand pumice fragments, but luckily nobody was visitingthe island at the time. With so many interestingchoices, New Zealand is a great country for volcanotours.

North of New Zealand the Ring of Fire starts curvingaround towards Asia, along the Tonga–Kermadecisland chain, Samoa, and the New Hebrides. These arethe South Seas volcanoes whose fantasy versions showup now and then in Hollywood movies such as SouthPacific, Bird of Paradise, and, more recently, Joe versusthe Volcano. The reality is somewhat different: theinhabitants of these islands are quite friendly anddon’t throw themselves or visiting volunteers intofuming craters. In fact, many of these volcanoes arenowadays on the quiet side and in no need of appeas-ing. Travelers who want to see some action shouldhead to Yasur volcano in Tanna Island, part of thenation of Vanuatu. Yasur has been in almost constantbut fairly mild activity since its discovery in 1774 andyou can – with caution – climb right up to the top and

Volcanic tours 5

Fig. 1.2. The distribution of volcanoesround the Pacific Ring of Fire. Theseinclude some of the deadliest volcanoesknown, such as Pinatubo, Krakatau, andMt. St. Helens. (Modified from Francis,1993.)






look down at the erupting crater, and up to see the vol-canic fireworks. Just don’t try to take home rocks assouvenirs: native folks believe that every rock fromtheir active volcano has spiritual significance and haveconfronted visitors who tried to take them away.Vanuatu has other interesting volcanoes, such asAmbryn, and it is a great destination for the adventur-ous, as the islands are well off the beaten tourist path.While in this part of the world, visitors may hear aboutthe fascinating Falcon volcano in the Tonga Islands.This undersea volcano is famous for its “disappearing”islands, which are small ash cones formed duringeruptions that are quickly washed away after the end ofthe activity. Volcanoes that come and go are not souncommon in this part of the world. In May 2000, alucky group of scientists came to the dormant under-water volcano of Kavachi and much to their delightfound it spewing ash, forming a new, temporary beachthat is truly far away from it all.

Continuing along the Ring we come to exotic PapuaNew Guinea, which boasts one of the world’s greatcalderas, Rabaul. This is actually a group of small vol-canoes clustered around the rim of a caldera bay.Rabaul had a large eruption in 1937 which generateddisastrous tsunamis, killing 500 people. In 1994,Rabaul woke up again with a spectacular eruptionfrom Vulcan and Tavurvur volcanoes. The town ofRabaul was greatly damaged and over 52,000 peoplehad to be evacuated. Luckily only a few deathsoccurred. Much more tragic circumstances resultedfrom the 1951 eruption of New Guinea’s other notablevolcano, Mt. Lamington, when glowing avalanches(nuées ardentes, French for “glowing clouds”) devas-tated 230 km2 (90 square miles) of land and killedabout 3,000 people.

Further west from New Guinea we come to the vol-canic wonderland of Indonesia, a country made up ofover 13,000 islands and home to 76 historically activevolcanoes. Some of the world’s most notorious volca-noes are here: Krakatau, Tambora, Merapi (Fig. 1.3),Agung, Semeru, and Galunggung. These are big killers– past eruptions have claimed many thousands oflives. The Krakatau eruption of 1883 is thought bymany to be the largest recent historical eruption but, infact, the blast from Tambora in 1815 holds the record:it produced some 40 km3 (10 cubic miles) of ash andmagma fragments. These fell over thousands of squarekilometers, killing crops and causing widespreadfamine. Krakatau, however, remains in the public’smind as one of the world’s most infamous volcanoesand, for this reason, many visitors like to make their

way there. Although the original island of Krakatauwas destroyed by the 1883 eruption, a much smallereruption in 1927 generated a new island – AnakKrakatau, meaning the “child of Krakatau” – whichone hopes will not live up to its parent’s reputation. Itis not easy to travel in Indonesia at present because ofthe often volatile political situation and potential ter-rorist attacks, but this does not deter every traveler.

The safest place to go to is probably Bali, despite anisolated, recent terrorist attack. Bali is an idyllic islandwith interesting volcanoes such as Gunung Agung andGunung Batur. Lombok is another popular tourist des-tination and it has Gunung Rinjani. Anak Krakatau ispotentially dangerous, both because of its location andits mild-to-moderate activity in recent years. It is possi-ble to get there by boat from beach resorts on the westcoast of Java, but access has been limited in the lastfew years since the death of a tourist in 1996. Thehighest volcano in Java is Semeru, which rises to 3,676m (12,060 feet) elevation. It is a very active and dan-gerous volcano; in August 2000 it killed two volcanol-ogists from the Volcanological Survey of Indonesia andinjured six others who were on a tour for professionalscientists. This is not a place to go without a localguide and, even then, the risk is high. The same couldbe said about other majestic Indonesian volcanoessuch as Merapi, one of the country’s most active, whichstands over the densely populated city of Yogyakarta.Among the dangers posed by Indonesian volcanoes arelahars. The explosive nature of the volcanoes createssteep flanks and deposits of fine ash; heavy rainfall canlead to devastating and deadly lahars.

The next notable volcano country along the Ring ofFire is the Philippines, site of several extremely danger-ous types such as Taal, Mayon, and Pinatubo. The 1991eruption of Mt. Pinatubo was the world’s third largesteruption in the twentieth century and made manyinternational headlines. Mayon is the country’s mostactive volcano. It is known for its symmetrical shape,but the placid beauty hides a rather restless interior.Explosive activity and the growth of a lava dome led toevacuation of people from areas adjacent to thevolcano in 2000 and 2001. Taal is a volcanic calderafilled with a lake, with the small but very activeVolcano Island in the center. The eruptions havecaused disastrous lake tsunamis. Taal is easily accessi-ble from Manila and resorts on the crater rim providegood tourist facilities. Although not the best countryfrom a tourism point of view, the Philippines areworth a stop because of these and other notorious vol-canoes.







Next comes Japan, another country where the volca-noes are numerous and restless, with Unzen andSakurajima being the most frequently active thesedays. Unzen claimed the lives of famous volcanochasers Maurice and Katia Kraff in 1991 (see Chapter4). A less dangerous highlight for a volcano tour is Mt.Fuji, undoubtedly the most scenic Japanese volcanoand famous throughout the world for its postcard-perfect beauty. Fuji seems to be resting since its lasteruption in 1707, but it has a history of being restless –it is known to have erupted at least 13 times in the last

thousand years. It is considered by the Japanese to be asacred mountain and each year many pilgrims maketheir way to the summit. Go in the summer if youwant to join them, in the spring if you would like totake your own postcard-style photograph of thevolcano with cherry blossoms in the foreground.Asama volcano, in central Japan, tends to have smalleruptions, but in 1783 it sent out deadly nuées ardentes.Visitors should beware of Aso volcano, where smallexplosive eruptions have occasionally killed touristsstanding on the rim at the wrong time. Go to

Volcanic tours 7

Fig. 1.3. Merapi in Java is one ofIndonesia’s most active and dangerousvolcanoes. The steep-sided stratovolcanodominates the landscape of one of Java’smajor cities, Yogyakarta. Merapi’seruptions have caused many fatalities anddevastated agricultural land. This type ofvolcano, part of the Earth’s Ring of Fire, isbest visited while in repose. (Photographcourtesy of Vincent Realmuto.)






Sakurajima for a chance to see some action; thevolcano often has small eruptions that can be seenfrom the base of the mountain. For hot springs,Hakone volcano is the place to visit. It has a beautifulcrater lake, varied volcanic features, and plenty oftourist facilities.

The Ring of Fire then stretches along the KurileIslands and the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia. Theseplaces are not renowned for their tourist facilities, butKamchatka is rapidly changing. This volcanic penin-sula was closed to Westerners until the fall of theSoviet regime but since then it has started to become apopular destination for adventure tours. The majorvolcanoes in the peninsula are Bezimianny, Karymsky,Kliuchevskoi (Fig. 1.4), and Tolbachik. All are quiteactive, erupting on average more than once a decade.Bezimianny (in Russian “the nameless one”) was con-sidered rather insignificant until 1955, when it wokeup with one of the most violent eruptions of thecentury, sending clouds of ash 45 km (28 miles) abovethe ground and giant nuées ardentes which devastatedmore than 60 km2 (23 square miles).

The Ring of Fire continues along the AleutianIslands, where there are active volcanoes such asKanaga, but these islands are not easy to get to, andthe tourist facilities are limited to say the least. Thenext group of volcanoes that are reasonably easy toreach are those in Alaska. Highlights are Mt. Spurr,Redoubt, Augustine, Pavlof, Veniaminof, andNovarupta. These tall volcanoes can have very violenteruptions that, because of the sparse population, donot usually cause fatalities. Novarupta caldera had avery powerful eruption in 1912. The eruption, thelargest of the twentieth century, was known for thehuge pyroclastic flows that formed the Valley of theTen Thousand Smokes. Although almost all of thosesteam vents (the “smokes”) are now gone, the site hasnot lost its appeal – a classic lava dome can be seeninside the caldera.

Canada represents a gap in the rich eastern side ofthe Ring of Fire, as its volcanoes have not been histori-cally active. However, the West Coast of the UnitedStates more than makes up for the short gap. Themajestic Cascade volcanoes attract millions of visitors


Fig. 1.4. Kliuchevskoi is the highest and most active volcano in Russia’s Kamchatka peninsula. The 4,835 m (15,863 feet), beautifullysymmetrical volcano has produced frequent eruptions, which range from stream and ash explosions to outpourings of lavas. This areaphotograph shows the 1993 lava flow in the foreground, dark against the snow. Volcanoes in the Kamchatka peninsula are spectacular,but the area was closed to foreign tourists during the Soviet era and is still seldom visited. (Photograph courtesy of Vincent Realmuto.)






to their beautiful, well-run national parks. All of themare worthy of a visit, from Mt. Baker near the Canadianborder to Lassen Peak and Mt. Shasta in California.Highlights include the menacing Mt. Rainier, the stillnotorious Mt. St. Helens, and the breathtaking CraterLake. The latter is no longer active, but it is the arche-typal volcanic caldera and a must for the volcano afi-cionado. While in California no one should miss avisit to Long Valley Caldera, which is considered a pos-sible site for a catastrophic eruption in the future.

At this point, two detours from the Ring of Fire arecalled for: one to the Yellowstone geothermal area,where thousands of visitors every year marvel at OldFaithful and other spouting geysers, and another toHawaii, the world’s prime example of “hot spot” vol-canism (discussed in Chapter 2). Hawaii is also theprime example of volcano tourism, thanks largely toKilauea’s Pu’u O’o eruption that started in 1983 and isstill delighting visitors, even though it has killed a fewof the many thousands of tourists who have flockedthere since the eruption started. Kilauea is one of themost accessible active volcanoes and the highlight ofthe Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Other Hawaiianvolcanoes worth a visit are the gigantic Mauna Loa, theslumbering Hualalai, and the magically beautifulHaleakala. All these volcanoes are easily accessiblewith excellent facilities for visitors.

South of the US mainland the Ring of Fire continuesalong Mexico, another country that does not lack vol-canic activity. Mexico’s most threatening volcano isColima (Fig. 1.5), but Parícutin is far better knownbecause of the circumstances of its birth – it literallysprang up from a cornfield in 1943. Most visitors climblittle Parícutin, but only serious climbers tackle Fuegode Colima, Mexico’s most restless volcano, or its restingneighbor Nevado de Colima. Tough climbers will wantto go to El Pico de Orizaba, Mexico’s highest mountain,rising up to 5,700 m (18,700 feet). Other Mexicanhighlights are Popocatépetl and El Chichón. Popo, asthe volcano is known by those who are not comfort-able speaking Aztec, is the snow-capped, majesticvolcano which dominates the skyline south of MexicoCity. Popo woke up from a five-decade slumber in 1994and has caused a lot of concern. Most of its explosionshave been on the small side but a repeat performanceof the powerful historic eruption of 1720 is possible. ElChichón was an obscure volcano until 1982, when itwoke up briefly but extremely violently, causing 2,500deaths and significant effects on the world’s climate.

The Ring of Fire’s surface expressions continue to beplentiful and notorious south of Mexico. One of them

is Guatemala’s Santiaguito dome, which has beengrowing on the flanks of the extremely dangerousSanta María volcano since 1922 (Fig. 1.6). Santiaguitosends out thick, pasty lava flows that move slowly andoccasionally some explosions and pyroclastic flows.The volcano is, unfortunately, not an easy or safe placeto visit. Pacaya and Fuego, also in Guatemala, are twovery active volcanoes that have mildly explosive(Strombolian) eruptions and are better choices for avisit. Eruptions from Pacaya can often be seen fromGuatemala City, the country’s capital. El Salvador hasIzalco, which was known as the Lighthouse of thePacific until the nearly continuous activity stopped in

Volcanic tours 9

Fig. 1.5. Colima volcano in Mexico, also known as Volcán Fuegoor Fuego de Colima, is one of Central America’s most activevolcanoes. It rises to 3,850 m (12,631 feet) and can be climbedduring times of repose, though it is safer to view it by climbing itsolder, snow-capped neighbor, Nevado de Colima. Fuego can beextremely dangerous. Its historic activity has included violentexplosive eruptions, pyroclastic flows, and debris avalancheswhich have threatened the nearby city of Colima. The city and thesurrounding region are rich in history and archeological remains.(Photograph by the author.)






1966 – just as a volcano hotel was being built.Nicaragua is home to Cerro Negro and Masaya, twovery active volcanoes that would be very attractive des-tinations if the country became more politically stable.Although maidens are no longer thrown into the lavalake at Masaya, visitors should remember that someCentral American countries can be as volatile as theirvolcanoes.

An exception to the above caution about CentralAmerica is the tiny, ecologically-conscious nation ofCosta Rica. This is an easy country to travel in, as itspolitics are peaceful and its tourism well developed.Costa Rica was one of the countries that pioneered theconcept of “eco-tours” and has become a popular vaca-tion spot destination for environmentalists. Thecountry’s most active volcanoes are the very active (anddangerous) Arenal, the spectacular Poás, the easilyaccessible Irazú, and the little-known Turrialba,located in an exceptionally scenic region.

At this point a Caribbean detour is called for. Manyvolcanoes rise along the Lesser Antilles arc, a result ofsubduction of the North Atlantic ocean floor beneaththe Caribbean plate. Many people have heard of theinfamous Mt. Pelée in Martinique and its tragic 1902eruption, but there are several less well-known butequally interesting volcanoes in the region. Amongthem are three that share the name La Soufrière (“thesulfur producer”). The homes of the three Soufrièresare the charming islands of St. Vincent, St. Lucia, andGuadeloupe, while Dominica has the Grand Soufrière.The volcanoes are easily accessible and the islandsreceive many visitors, but most of them do not ventureup the volcanic slopes. The volcano that made thenews during the last years of the twentieth century andcontinues to do so in the new millenium is another“sulfur producer”: Soufriere Hills in Montserrat. Oncea haven for visitors wanting to see an unspoiledCaribbean island, Montserrat has been devastated by


Fig. 1.6. Santa María volcano in Guatemala (right) erupted violently in 1902, devastating a large area of the country. Since 1922, theSantiaguito lava dome (left) has been growing at the base of the 1902 eruption crater. The growth of the dome is marked by almostcontinuous minor explosions and often by lava extrusions and more violent events. Santiaguito is considered very dangerous, butdepending on conditions at the time, the volcano can be viewed safely from a distance. In 1929, a large pyroclastic flow fromSantiaguito killed at least several hundred people; some report as many as 5,000. Guatemala is home to several other activevolcanoes. (Photograph courtesy of Vincent Realmuto.)






the continuing eruption. It is hard to tell when tourismwill return to the island, but while the volcano is stillactive it is an interesting choice for adventurous typeswho can forgo the usual tourist facilities. It may comeas a surprise that the most active volcano of theCaribbean is a submarine one which bears the unusualname Kick-’em-Jenny. This volcano, near the island ofGranada, was first spotted in 1939, when a blackcolumn of ash and steam rose almost 300 m (1,000feet) out of a boiling sea. It has been growing andshould form a new island in the near future. Keepwatching the news and, when the volcano emerges, it’stime to plan a visit.

The Ring of Fire continues down South America andwe come next to Colombia, another volcanically inter-esting but politically problematic country. TwoColombian volcanoes grabbed the world’s attention inrecent years by having unexpected and deadly erup-tions. Nevado del Ruíz caused one of the major vol-canic catastrophes of the twentieth century, whileGaleras volcano had a small but ill-timed explosion in1993 which killed nine volcanologists. Just south ofGaleras volcano is Ecuador, a country that owns notonly two of the world’s most majestic volcanoes – themuch-climbed Cotopaxi and the often activeReventador – but also the Galápagos Islands. TheGalápagos are all volcanic islands and some of the vol-canoes are still very active. One of these is Fernandina,a shallow-sided volcano with a distinctively largesummit caldera. Fernandina’s last eruption was in early1995 and another could start any time, as this is avolcano characterized by frequent Hawaiian-style activ-ity. A popular choice for visitors is Isabella Island,home to Sierra Negra (whose summit can be reachedon horseback) and Cerro Azul, the latter being one ofthe most active volcanoes in the Galápagos, but cur-rently off-limits to visitors. Its eruption in 1998 createda serious threat to the island’s rare tortoises and somehad to be evacuated by helicopter, while others(weighing up to 225 kg, nearly 500 pounds) had to becarried by human rescuers across rugged terrain.Charles Darwin, who made the tortoises famousenough to be worth rescuing, also made importantobservations about volcanoes and ended up having anactive one named after him: Volcan Darwin, also inIsabella Island. The Galápagos are an ideal destinationfor adventurous types who really want to learn aboutnatural history, but visiting these islands requires someplanning. The government of Ecuador has strict mea-sures in force to protect this ecological paradise andthe best way to go is to take one of the many organized

tours. Only a few places in the islands are open toindependent travelers; otherwise you must be in a touror in the company of a Galápagos naturalist guide.

Continuing down the Andean chain we come toChile and its imposing volcanoes exemplified byVillarrica and Calbuco, two of the most frequentlyactive. Chile has beautiful national parks and facilitiesfor visitors are very good, though climbing the volca-noes is not easy, as they rise to great heights. The 6,739m (22,109 feet) high Llullaillaco has the honor ofbeing the world’s tallest historically active volcano.Travelers who are particularly adventurous may wish togo down to Cerro Hudson in Patagonia, a volcano thaterupted violently in 1991, scattering ash as far away asAustralia. The southernmost Andean volcano is MonteBurney, located at the tip of Patagonia, Chile. It is notan easy place to reach but visitors are rewarded withthe knowledge that not many make it that far. TheRing of Fire goes on further south to the far-flungSouth Sandwich Islands, but most travelers would notventure that far. The Ring finally reaches Antarctica atthe isolated and grim Deception Island, whose erup-tion of 1969 destroyed a research base and causedmuch alarm among the local penguin population.

Volcanoes of the AtlanticThe volcanoes here result from the mid-Atlantic ridge’sintense sea-floor spreading activity (Fig. 1.7), a ratherdifferent tectonic setting from that of the Ring of Fire.The southernmost active volcano in the mid-Atlanticchain is Norway’s Bouvet Island, an uninhabited andalmost inaccessible place, probably the most remotevolcano in the world that is still considered active. Theisland, discovered in 1739, had a major eruptionabout 2,000 years ago, or so magnetic dating tells us.Further north is the isolated island of Tristan daCunha. It may not get many visitors, but it is known tobe a rather interesting place. Its eruption of 1961forced the evacuation of the small population (a fewhundred people) but since then the people havereturned, the volcano has remained quiet, and theisland has started to appear on one or two cruisebrochures. Tristan has a nearby neighboring volcanicisland that bears the rather appropriate name ofInaccessible and is, as expected, uninhabited.

Going north, the next volcanic point of civilizationis the island of St. Helena, last home of Napoleon andconsidered a maritime pit stop since it was discoveredin 1502. The volcano is no longer active and the islanddoes not offer much to visitors, who must get there bysea, as St. Helena has yet to catch up with the age of air

Volcanic tours 11






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PART I - Assetsassets.cambridge.org/97805215/54534/excerpt/9780521554534_exc… · water volcano of Kavachi and much to their delight found it spewing ash, forming a new, temporary