Diapositiva 1

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UNIT7
The Earths dynamics
HISTORIC VOLCANOES
Natural Science 2. Secondary Education
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UNIT7
Historic volcanoes
Click on each volcano to find out more.
Natural Science 2. Secondary Education
3
UNIT7
Historic volcanoes
The Santorini eruption

• This eruption, which occurred between 1650 and
  1500 BC, was the largest volcanic event in
  antiquity.
• The Greek archipelago of Santorini is made up of
  the remains of a large island that was destroyed
  by this explosive eruption. When the volcano
  erupted, the island collapsed into the sea,
  forming a caldera with a number of small islands
  around it.
• The eruption expelled huge amounts of volcanic
  materials into the atmosphere and the collapse of
  the island produced large tsunamis.

• The eruption of the volcano had devastating
  consequences for the Minoan civilisation on the
  island of Crete and the tsunami wiped out entire
  settlements, hitting coastal areas the hardest.
  The climatic effects of the eruption were felt
  around the world, but especially in the eastern
  Mediterranean region, where changes in the
  climate resulted in failed harvests and famine.
• Egyptian texts dating from this time describe
  how the sky was dark for months and that the sun
  could not be seen. It has been suggested that the
  myths of Atlantis and the Plagues of Egypt are
  based on this eruption.

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Natural Science 2. Secondary Education
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UNIT7
Historic volcanoes
The eruption of Mount Vesuvius

• Mount Vesuvius, located in Naples, started to
  erupt on 24 August, in the year 79 AD. This was
  one of the volcanos most violent eruptions. It
  buried the nearby cities of Pompeii and
  Herculaneum.
• Clouds of toxic gases and burning pyroclastic
  flows destroyed everything in their path.
• Many residents took shelter in their homes, but
  the air soon became unbreathable. Many people
  died of suffocation or were buried by the ash
  expelled by the volcano.

• Pompeii and Herculaneum remained buried, and
  were preserved, for centuries. Today they provide
  us with a unique insight into what cities were
  like at the time.

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Natural Science 2. Secondary Education
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UNIT7
Historic volcanoes
The Timanfaya eruption

• The first eruption of the Timanfaya volcano in
  Lanzarote occurred on 1 September 1730.

• There were a number of eruptions in the Canary
  Islands in the eighteenth century, but the
  Timanfaya volcano was active for six years.
  During this time it buried ten towns and covered
  most of southern Lanzarote with lava and ash.

• The eruptions of Timanfaya released between
  three and five square kilometres of volcanic
  materials and shaped much of the islands modern
  land relief.

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UNIT7
Historic volcanoes
The eruption of Mount Tambora

• The eruption of Mount Tambora, located on the
  island of Sumbawa in Indonesia, occurred in April
  1815. It is sometimes called the eruption of the
  millennium.
• The eruption was felt 5,000 kilometres away.
  Layers of ash from the volcano were up to three
  metres deep in Indonesia, with ash falling as far
  away as France. The eruption resulted huge rafts
  of uprooted trees, pyroclasts, ash and pumice
  forming, which affected sea travel for years
  after the eruption.
• The climate was significantly altered due to the
  eruption the year 1816 was called the year
  without a summer, with low temperatures
  resulting in failed harvests and famines.

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UNIT7
Historic volcanoes
The eruption of Krakatoa

• On 20 May 1883, Krakatoa began a series of small
  eruptions, but residents did not recognise these
  eruptions as a warning no one suspected that on
  26 August, a deafening boom would mark the
  beginning of one of the largest volcanic
  eruptions in history.
• The eruption lasted a number of hours,
  culminating on 27 August, when a huge explosion
  blew most of the island to pieces. The sound
  produced by this explosion, considered the
  loudest noise ever heard on Earth, caused the few
  survivors within 40 kilometres of the volcano to
  go deaf. The volcanic materials expelled by the
  eruption reached altitudes of 80 kilometres and
  caused climatic changes that would be felt around
  the globe for years.

• The eruption and the resulting tsunamis swept
  away hundreds of coastal villages in Indonesia
  and killed more than 36,000 people. None of the
  3,000 people living on the island of Sebesi,
  located 13 kilometres from Krakatoa, survived the
  eruption.
• Today, small eruptions are slowly creating a new
  volcanic cone in the caldera that was left by the
  1883 eruption.

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Natural Science 2. Secondary Education
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UNIT7
Historic volcanoes
The eruption of Mount Pelée

• On 8 May 1902, after showing signs of increased
  activity, Mount Pelée, located on the island of
  Martinique, began to erupt.
• The eruption resulted in the formation of a
  pyroclastic flow of gases and ash with
  temperatures exceeding 1,000C that moved towards
  the town of Saint-Pierre at over 670 kilometres
  per hour.
• The pyroclastic flow killed most of
  Saint-Pierres 30,000 residents.

• On 20 May, a second eruption destroyed what was
  left of Saint-Pierre. On 30 May, a final eruption
  caused another pyroclastic flow to form, killing
  1,000 people in nearby settlements. Mount Pelée
  has been inactive since 1902.

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Natural Science 2. Secondary Education