The Majesty And Power Of The Volcano

Most people know what a volcano is, but not too many have actually ever seen one. There are a number of them on planet Earth and while there are some loners out there, most volcanoes are contained within a general area on the world map called the Pacific Ring of Fire. Volcanoes are not the only thing that you have to worry about when you are visiting an area within the Pacific Ring of Fire, however; earthquakes also tend to be a significant occurrence in this area.

Stretching from the west coast of South and North America across the Pacific Ocean from Alaska to Southeast Asia and even all the way down to New Zealand, the Pacific Ring of Fire is, in a word, huge. This is the most heavily active area on the planet for earthquakes and volcanoes and for good reason, since it is home to over 452 or 75% of the world’s volcanoes (both dormant and active) and home to over 80% of the world’s earthquakes.

The Cascade Volcanic Arc lies on the northwestern coast of the United States and includes the famous Mt. Saint Helens, which erupted in 1980 and killed 57 people and destroyed at least 200 homes. It was the biggest eruption in the contiguous 48 states and the whole north face of the mountain slid away to expose the rock within the volcano that was under the pressure of molten rock, gas, and steam to the lower pressure outside. It erupted for the second time the day immediately after the first. Hundreds of miles around Mt. Saint Helens was reduced to a mere shadow of their former selves and President Jimmy Carter took a look at the damage and said that it appeared to be more desolate than a moonscape.

Even after all the physical damage to the countryside had been done, there was still the problem of the ash falling from the sky and reducing visibility to the point where it was difficult to travel. I-90 from Seattle from Spokane was closed for the total of a week and a half, at least. Airports in the area were unable to accept incoming flights due to the poor visibility and in all, over 1,000 commercial flights were cancelled because of the airport closings.

Unfortunately, natural disasters like what happened at Mt. Saint Helens are not uncommon along the Pacific Ring of Fire; incidents such as this have been repeated for thousands of years, but we are fortunate today to have the technology to be able to rescue most people in the path of such destruction.

About the Author

Savey Bakarne is a retail saleswoman who has 20 years of experience buying and selling health products that are good technologically advanced. She specializes in helping her customers find the right health products from aromatherapy to finding the right
Volcano Vaporizer for your needs.

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