Mount Pinatubo is an active stratovolcano in the Cabusilan Mountains on the island of Luzon, near

the tripoint of the Philippine provinces of Zambales, Tarlac, and Pampanga.[3][3][4] Before the volcanic
activities of 1991, its eruptive history was unknown to most people. It was heavily eroded,
inconspicuous and obscured from view. It was covered with dense forest which supported a
population of several thousand indigenous people, the Aetas, who fled to the mountains during
the Spanish conquest of the Philippines.
The volcano's Plinian / Ultra-Plinian eruption on 15 June 1991 produced the second largest
terrestrial eruption of the 20th century after the 1912 eruption of Novarupta in the Alaska Peninsula.
[5]

Complicating the eruption was the arrival of Typhoon Yunya (Diding), bringing a lethal mix of ash

and rain to areas surrounding the volcano. Successful predictions at the onset of the climactic
eruption led to the evacuation of tens of thousands of people from the surrounding areas, saving
many lives, but the surrounding areas were severely damaged by pyroclastic flows, ash deposits,
and subsequently, by the lahars caused by rainwaters re-mobilizing earlier volcanic deposits causing
extensive destruction to infrastructure and changing the river systems months to years after the
eruption.[5][6]
The effects of the eruption were felt worldwide. It ejected roughly
10,000,000,000 tonnes (1.11010 short tons) or 10 km3(2.4 cu mi) of magma, and 20,000,000 tonnes
(22,000,000 short tons) SO
2, bringing vast quantities of minerals and metals to the surface environment. It injected

more particulate into the stratosphere than any eruption since Krakatoa in 1883. Over the following
months, the aerosols formed a global layer of sulfuric acid haze. Global temperatures dropped by
about 0.5 C (0.9 F) in the years 1991-93,[7] and ozone depletion temporarily increased substantially.
[8]

The volcano is 87 km (54 mi) northwest of Manila, the capital of the Philippines. Near Mount
Pinatubo, the United States maintained two large military bases in the region. The U.S. Naval Base
Subic Bay was 37 km (23 mi) south of Pinatubo, and the extent of Clark Air Base was just 14 km
(8.7 mi) east of the volcano's summit.[9] The volcano's location on Luzon is in close proximity to about
6 million people.[10] An indigenous group of people, the Aetas (also spelled as Ayta/Ita), had lived on
the slopes of the volcano and in surrounding areas for several centuries, having fled the lowlands to
escape persecution by the Spanish during their conquest of the Philippines which began in 1565.
They were a hunter-gatherer people who were extremely successful in surviving in the dense jungles
of the area. These people also grew some staple crops such as wheat, barley, rice and raised
animals.[11]

Santa Mara Volcano is a large active volcano in the western highlands of Guatemala, in
the Quetzaltenango Department near the city of Quetzaltenango.
The volcano was known by Gagxanul in the local K'iche' language, before the 16th century Spanish
Conquest of the region.[1]
The eruption of Santa Mara Volcano in 1902 (VEI 6) was one of the three largest eruptions of the
20th century, after the 1912Novarupta and 1991 Pinatubo eruptions. It is also one of the five biggest
eruptions of the past 200 (and probably 300) years. [2]

Geological history[edit]
Santa Mara Volcano is part of the Sierra Madre range of volcanoes, which extends along the
western edge of Guatemala, separated from the Pacific Ocean by a broad plain. The volcanoes are
formed by the subduction of the Cocos Plate under theCaribbean Plate, which led to the formation of
the Central America Volcanic Arc.
Eruptions at Santa Mara are estimated to have begun about 30,000 years ago. For several
thousand years, eruptions seem to have been small and frequent, building up the large cone of the
volcano, reaching about 1,400 metres (4,600 ft) above the plain on which the nearby city
of Quetzaltenango sits. Following the cone-building eruptions, activity seems to have changed to a
pattern of long periods of repose followed by the emission of small lava flows from vents on the
flanks. The cone built by the eruptions had a volume of about 10 cubic kilometres (2.4 cu mi), and
consisted of a mixture of basalt and andesite lavas.
The first eruption of Santa Mara in the recorded history occurred in October 1902. Before 1902 the
volcano had been dormant for at least 500 years and possibly several thousand years, but its
awakening was clearly indicated by a seismic swarm in the region starting in January 1902, which
included a major earthquake in April 1902. The eruption began on 24 October, and the largest
explosions occurred over the following two days, ejecting an estimated 5.5 cubic kilometres
(1.3 cu mi) of magma. The eruption was one of the largest of the 20th century, only slightly less in
magnitude to that of Mount Pinatubo in 1991. The eruption had a VEI of 6, thus being 'Colossal'.[3]
The pumice formed in the climactic eruption fell over an area of about 273,000 square kilometres
(105,000 sq mi), and volcanic ash was detected as far away as San Francisco, 4,000 kilometres
(2,500 mi) away. The eruption tore away much of the south-western flank of the volcano, leaving a
crater about 1 kilometre (0.6 mi) in diameter and about 300 metres (980 ft) deep, stretching from just
below the summit to an elevation of about 2,300 metres (7,500 ft). The first evidence of the eruption
was a sprinkling of sand on Quezaltenango. The wind then changed from the south to the east and
ashes began to fall at Helvetia, a coffee plantation six miles to the South-West. [4]

Krakatoa, or Krakatau (Indonesian: Krakatau), is a volcanic island situated in the Sunda

Strait between the islands of Java andSumatra in Indonesia. The name is also used for the
surrounding island group comprising the remnants of a much larger island of three volcanic peaks
which was obliterated in a cataclysmic 1883 eruption, unleashing huge tsunamis (killing more than
36,000 people) and destroying over two-thirds of the island. The explosion is considered to be the
loudest sound ever heard in modern history, with reports of it being heard up to 3,000 miles
(4,800 km) from its point of origin. The shock waves from the explosion were recorded
on barographs around the globe.
In 1927 a new island, Anak Krakatau, or "Child of Krakatoa", emerged from the caldera formed in
1883 and is the current location of eruptive activity.
The most notable eruptions of Krakatoa culminated in a series of massive explosions over August
2627, 1883, which were among the most violent volcanic events in recorded history.
With an estimated Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) of 6,[2] the eruption was equivalent to 200
megatons of TNT (840 PJ) about 13,000 times the nuclear yield of the Little Boybomb (13 to 16 kt)
that devastated Hiroshima, Japan, during World War II, and four times the yield of Tsar Bomba (50
Mt), the most powerful nuclear device ever detonated.
The 1883 eruption ejected approximately 25 km3 (6 cubic miles) of rock.[3] The cataclysmic explosion
was heard 4,800 km (3,000 mi) away in Alice Springs, as well as on the island
of Rodrigues near Mauritius, 4,653 km (2,891 mi) to the west.[4]
According to the official records of the Dutch East Indies colony, 165 villages and towns were
destroyed near Krakatoa, and 132 were seriously damaged. At least 36,417 people died, and many
more thousands were injured, mostly from the tsunamis that followed the explosion. The eruption
destroyed two-thirds of the island of Krakatoa.
Eruptions in the area since 1927 have built a new island at the same location, named Anak
Krakatau (which is Indonesian for "Child of Krakatoa"). Periodic eruptions have continued since, with
recent eruptions in 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012. As of late 2011, this island has a radius of roughly 2
kilometres (1.2 mi), and a high point of about 324 metres (1,063 ft) above sea level,[5] growing 5
metres (16 ft) each year.[6]
Although there are earlier descriptions of an island in the Sunda Strait with a "pointed mountain," the
earliest mention of Krakatoa by name in the western world was on a 1611 map by Lucas Janszoon

Waghenaer, who labelled the island "Pulo Carcata" (pulo is the Sundanese word for "island"). About
two dozen variants have been found, includingCrackatouw, Cracatoa, and Krakatao (in an older
Portuguese-based spelling). The first known appearance of the spelling Krakatau was by Wouter
Schouten, who passed by "the high tree-covered island of Krakatau" in October 1658. [7]

Cosigina (also spelt Cosegina) is a stratovolcano located in the western part of Nicaragua. It
forms a large peninsula extending into the Gulf of Fonseca. The summit is truncated by a large
caldera, 2 x 2.4 km in diameter and 500 m deep, holding a substantialcrater lake (Laguna
Cosigina). This cone has grown within an earlier caldera, forming a somma volcano. The earlier
caldera rim is still exposed on the north side, but has been buried by the younger cone elsewhere.
Contents
[hide]

1 Activity

2 See also

3 References

4 External links

Activity[edit]
The volcano last erupted in 1859, but its most famous activity occurred on 20 January 1835, [2] when
it produced the largest historical eruption in Nicaragua. Ash from the 1835 eruption has been found
in Mexico, Costa Rica, and Jamaica. According to an analysis byBerkeley Earth Surface
Temperature, the 1835 eruption caused a temporary decrease in the average land temperature of
Earth of about 0.75 degrees C.[3]
It has not erupted since 1859, only an instant in terms of geological time. An earthquake swarm was
measured near Cosigina in 2002, indicating that tectonic forces are still active in the region
although the volcano is somewhat isolated from the line of more recently active Central American
volcanoes to the northwest and southeast. The only indicators of hydrothermal activity at the volcano
are intermittently observed gas bubbles in Laguna Cosigina and a hot spring along the eastern
flank of the volcano. The fairly uniform vegetation cover on the volcanos sides also attests to a
general lack of gas emissions or hot spots on the 872-meter-high cone.