A Few Of The Most Destructive Volcanoes

http://www.livescience.com/16679-most-destructive-volcanoes.html
Deccan Traps – Deccan Plateau, India – about 60 million years ago
Credit: NASA Earth Observatory

Deccan Traps

The Deccan Traps are a set of lava beds in the Deccan Plateau region of what is now India that cover an area of about 580,000 square miles (1.5 million square kilometers), or more than twice the area of Texas. The lava beds were laid down in a series of colossal volcanic eruptions that occurred between 63 million and 67 million years ago. The timing of the eruptions roughly coincides with the disappearance of the dinosaurs, the so-called K-T mass extinction (the shorthand given to the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction). Evidence for the volcanic extinction of the dinosaurs has mounted in recent years, though many scientists still support the idea that an asteroid impact did the dinosaurs in. Above is an aerial photo of the Lonar Crater in India, which rests inside of the Deccan Plateau, the massive plain of volcanic basalt rock left over from the eruption.

Yellowstone Supervolcano – northwest corner of Wyoming, United States – about 640,000 years ago

Credit: Nina B | shutterstock

Yellowstone Supervolcano

The history of what is now Yellowstone National Park is marked by many enormous eruptions, the most recent of which occurred about 640,000 years ago, according to the United States Geological Survey. When this gigantic supervolcano erupted, it sent about 250 cubic miles (1,000 cubic kilometers) of material into the air. The eruptions have left behind hardened lava fields and calderas, depressions that form in the ground when material below it is erupted to the surface. The magma chambers thought to underlie the Yellowstone hotspot also provide the park with one of its enduring symbols, its geysers, as the water is heated up by the hot magma that flows underneath the ground. Some researchers have predicted that the supervolcano will blow its top again, an event that would cover up to half the country in ash up to 3 feet (1 meter) deep, one study predicts. The volcano only seems to go off about once every 600,000 years, though whether it ever will happen again isn’t known for sure. Recently though, tremors have been recorded in the Yellowstone area. The midway geyser basin in Wyoming’s Yellowstone National Park, current day.

Thera – island of Santorini in the Aegean Sea – sometime between 1645 B.C. and 1500 B.C.

Credit: mathom | shutterstock

Thera – island of Santorini in the Aegean Sea

While the date of the eruption isn’t known with certainty, geologists think that Thera exploded with the energy of several hundred atomic bombs in a fraction of a second. Though there are no written records of the eruption, geologists think it could be the strongest explosion ever witnessed. The island that hosted the volcano, Santorini (part of an archipelago of volcanic islands), had been home to members of the Minoan civilization, though there are some indications that the inhabitants of the island suspected the volcano was going to blow its top and evacuated. But though those residents might have escaped, there is cause to speculate that the volcano severely disrupted the culture, with tsunamis and temperature declines caused by the massive amounts of sulfur dioxide it spewed into the atmosphere that altered the climate. Above is how the volcanic island of Santorini looks now.

Mount Vesuvius – Pompeii, Roman Empire (now Italy) – 79

Credit: Katie Smith Photography | shutterstock

Mount Vesuvius

Mount Vesuvius is a so-called stratovolcano that lies to the east of what is now Naples, Italy. Stratovolcanoes are tall, steep, conical structures that periodically erupt explosively and are commonly found where one of Earth’s plates is subducting below another, producing magma along a particular zone. Vesuvius’ most famous eruption is the one that buried the Roman towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum in rock and dust in 79, killing thousands. The ashfall preserved some structures of the town, as well as skeletons and artifacts that have helped archaeologists better understand ancient Roman culture. Vesuvius is also considered by some to be the most dangerous volcano in the world today, as a massive eruption would threaten more than 3 million people who live in the area. The volcano last erupted in 1944.

Laki – Iceland – 1783
Credit: smcfeeters | shutterstock

Laki – Iceland

Iceland has many volcanoes that have erupted over the course of history. One notable blast was the eruption of Laki volcano in 1783. Above is the Laki island of Iceland, modern day. The eruption freed trapped volcanic gases that were carried by the Gulf Stream over to Europe. In the British Isles, many died of gas poisoning. The volcanic material sent into the air also created fiery sunsets recorded by 18th-century painters. Extensive crop damage and livestock losses created a famine in Iceland that resulted in the deaths of one-fifth of the population, according to the Smithsonian Institution’s Global Volcanism Program. The volcanic eruption, like many others, also influenced the world’s climate, as the particles it sent into the atmosphere blocked some of the sun’s incoming rays.