Majestic Volcanoes of The World Three

Mount Asama (Japan)

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Located about 85 miles (140 kilometers) northwest of densely populated Tokyo, Mount Asama is the highest point in a chain of volcanoes along central Honshū, Japan.  Its summit lies 8,200 feet (2,500 meters) above sea level.  Built on the ruins of older peaks, Asama is an exceptionally active volcano.  Its eruptions have been explosive in type, throwing out ash, lava bombs, and sometimes pumice.  The famous eruption in 1783, which took the lives of more than 1,300 people, began with a rain of ash and pumice and was followed by several rapid flows of hot lava.  Minor eruptions occur there with some regularity.  Slight, persistent earth tremors, a swelling of the crater, and other signs suggest that eruptions will continue to occur there.

Popocatepetl (Mexico)

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Popocatepetl is arguably the most famous volcano in Mexico.  Its graceful snow-white summit rising against the sky at 17,802 feet (5,426 meters) is easily visible from Mexico City, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) to the northwest.  The Aztecs recorded a series of eruptions in the 14th century, and Spanish chronicles reported 10 more that occurred in the 16th and 17th centuries.  The last violent eruption was registered in 2000.  Its immense oval crater, nearly 2,000 feet (600 meters) in diameter and more than 500 feet (150 meters) deep, is paved with thick deposits of sulfur. Within the crater, numerous vents continue to spout noxious vapors.  And from time to time, Popocatepetl still sends out clouds of smoke, thus living up to its ancient Aztec name, which means “the smoking mountain.”

White Island (New Zealand)

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White Island or Whakaari, in the Bay of Plenty off the coast of North Island, New Zealand, is the visible tip of a submarine volcano.  Some 800 acres (325 hectares) in area, it rises to a maximum of 1,075 feet (328 meters) above the blue Pacific.  Despite its small size, White Island is notable for the many signs of continuing turmoil within its crater.  Mud pots boil ceaselessly, geysers erupt, and jets of steam whistle through cracks in the ground.  The largest of these openings, known as Roaring Jimmy, regularly emits jets of high-pressure steam with a thunderous sound.  In 1914, debris from a landslide clogged the vent and disaster ensued.  Pressure built up until Roaring Jimmy suddenly cleared its throat with an eruption that triggered an enormous landslide that an entire sulfur-mining camp was swept out to sea.

Monte Tronador (Argentina – Chile)

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Located along the border between Argentina and Chile, Monte Tronador is one of the great snow-capped peaks that punctuate the skyline of southern Andes. Just as the ancient volcano was severely glaciated during the Ice Age, it continues to be altered by glacial ice today. Moist winds blowing in from the Pacific drop heavy snowfalls on Monte Tronador, nurturing a great number of glacial tongues that radiate from the summit.  Some of these glaciers proceed downslope through normal glacial valleys, while others are feed by periodic avalanches of ice.  From time to time, parts of the ice caps on the high plateaus break off and come crashing down the bordering cliffs into the valleys lying far below.  It was the thundering noise caused by these occasional ice falls that gave Monte Tronador its name, the “thundering mountain.”

Puys Volcanic Chain (France)

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The Puys Volcanic Chain in south-central France is among the most unusual mountain ranges in the entire country.  Stretching north to south for about 25 miles (40 kilometers), it consists of a series of 60 extinct volcanoes.  The highest summit of all, the Puy de Dôme, reaches a maximum elevation of 4,806 feet (1,465 meters).  Once crowned by a temple dedicated to the god Mercury, its flat top today can be reached by a winding road.  It is a fine vantage point for viewing the entire range from north to south.  Although the volcanoes are quiescent in the present, the many hot springs in the area provide evidence that the pockets of molten magma that produced the mountains still lie quite close to the surface of the earth. 

More Nature’s Wonders Series:

• Beautiful Bays
• Breathtaking Canyons
• Fabulous Fjords
• Sublime Glaciers
• Great Mountain Ranges 1
• Great Mountain Ranges 2
• Great Mountain Ranges 3
• Gorgeous Gorges 1
• Gorgeous Gorges 2
• Impressive Natural Rock Formations 1
• Impressive Natural Rock Formations 2
• Famous Rock-Formations
• Lovely Lakes 1
• Lovely Lakes 2
• Lovely Lakes 3
• Magnificent Caves 1
• Magnificent Caves 2
• Majestic Volcanoes 1
• Majestic Volcanoes 2
• Majestic Volcanoes 3
• Wondrous Waterfalls 1
• Wondrous Waterfalls 2 
• Wondrous Waterfalls 3

Parks with Spectacular Rock Formations:

• Legendary Dartmoor
• Mighty Yosemite
• Awesome Zion National Park
• Amazing Arches National Park
• Magnificent Monument Valley
• Spectacular Bryce Canyon
• Ciudad Encantada, Spain’s Enchanted City