Hawaiian Volcano Observatory

Have you ever heard of the volcano called Mount St. Helens? You probably have since it is a very well known volcano, but if you haven’t, then I will tell you all you need to know about the volcano. Mount St. Helens is a stratovolcano. Stratovolcanoes are also considered to be a composite volcano. Composite volcanoes are the type of cone-shaped volcanoes. Mount St. Helens is made up of layers of hardened lava and rock fragments, because it is a composite volcano. Mount St. Helens has had many…

As you walk the streets of pompeii, there are hundreds of people that surround you screaming, pushing, falling, panicking, all trying to escape the volcanic ash as Mount Vesuvius erupts completely burying the city of pompeii. From every direction as you listen, you can hear the sounds of terror, buildings collapsing, the ground rumbling, and the overturning of all the markets, but through it all, your hand is raised to your ear in search of the one who’s voice you fell in love with, Glaucus. As…

he movement of the tectonic plates causing a shaking of the Earth’s surface, is an earthquake. Seismographs are instruments that can measure the size of an earthquake, from a tremor to a major event, as they are happening almost unceasingly. Some earthquakes can cause major events like broken dams, landslides, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis and destruction of cities. (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2015) The densest areas of the map – appendix 2 – is around Indonesia and New Zealand. This is because…

There is an area within the Pacific Ocean called the “Ring of Fire,” that is a region of high volcanic and seismic activity ranging from parts of Asia, to Australia, and to North and South America. Majority of active volcanoes on Earth are located within the Ring of Fire. In fact 75% of the world’s active and dormant volcanoes are located in the Ring of Fire. Within it’s boundary in the Pacific Ocean, the Ring of Fire consist of the Pacific Plate, where it runs along against other plates such as…

Costa Rica As a member of your new destination development team, I would like add a new travel destination for our customers. There is a great number of places one can travel to, but none can compare to a beautiful and relaxing place like Costa Rica. Costa Rica is a country located in Central America bordering the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean. This country is smaller than West Virginia; nonetheless, a country that is interesting because of its diverse geography. This is the perfect…

Acid rain is any form of precipitation that is extremely acidic, causing harmful effects on the environment. The unusual acidity of acid rain is caused by the high levels of nitric and sulfuric acids in the atmosphere, generated mostly by human activities but also by natural activities. This document will describe the process of acid rain from creation to the effects it has on the environment. Chemical Sources In the formation of acid rain, natural and human-made sources are known to play a…

In this paper the Soufriere Hills Volcano will be analyzes in several different parts; an introduction to the Soufriere Hills volcano, the composition of the magma and lava in the volcano, other characteristics of the magma and lava, ash production from eruptions, pyroclastic flows, volcanic activity before the 1995 eruption, the 1995 eruption, cyclic activity within the volcano, and potential hazards of the Soufriere Hills volcano. Soufriere Hills volcano is located in the south central part…

New crust is generated as plates pull away from each other and can either cause sea floor spreading or new land to be created. An example of a continental rift valley is the Eastern African Rift Valley which is being formed as the Eastern African plate is moving away from the main Africa plate in a north-easterly direction. Plates move apart due to convection currents in the lithosphere. As the crusts move away from each other the crust thins, tension in the lithosphere causes the plate to…

The Ferguson Rock Slide is classified as a major rock slide event that took place over the course of six months from May to November 2006. The slide blocked California State Highway 140, a major traffic route for vehicles entering and exiting Yosemite National Park in the Sierra Nevada mountain range in Central California. This route is primarily used by private and commercial vehicles for tourism, employees of the Yosemite National Park, and local residents of the area. Macro and Micro…

San Francisco, in northern California, is a hilly city on the tip of a peninsula surrounded by the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay. It's known for its year-round fog, iconic Golden Gate Bridge, and cable cars, but is at risk for a major earthquake. San Francisco is built on the north american plate with it moving against a transform boundary, with the Pacific plate. A transform boundary is when two plates slide against each other, causing many earthquakes since San Francisco is on the west…