John Louis J.

Gacad 2009-78292 Taal Lake Fieldtrip

April 2, 2012 Geol 11 THV

On March 3, 2012, we went to Taal Lake for a fieldtrip on our subject geol 11. At first I thought it was just an ordinary fieldtrip but after experiencing it I was wrong. Before going to the center of Taal Lake, we first gather at a house were they monitor the volcano 24/7 in case of any eruptions might occur. On that house someone discuss about the history of Taal volcano. The last eruption was about 1977 and it was an ultravulcaninan eruption which means the ground water was heated by magma creating an explosion of steam, water, ash, rock, and volcanic bombs. He also said that the most recent activity of Taal volcano was in june 1, 2011 that has an alert Level 2 which have intensity II earthquakes in the eastern sector of volcano accompanied by rumbling sounds. There was also bubbling activity observed in the middle of Main Crater Lake. After the brief history of Taal Volcano which is a caldera type volcano which means the magma chamber was suddenly emptied and began to collapse creating the feature what we now see in the Taal volcano. We know are ready to go to the new Taal volcano at the center of the Taal Lake. The ride was very rough but the local said that this is nothing compared when it was raining, but I was very shock to experience waves in the lake because the waters in the lake are usually calm and little chance of having waves. And it was about a 30-60 minute trip to our destination. As we arrived to the coastline of the island, we then hike to lake mixed with sulfur. As we walk, I noticed that the ground was a bit too fine grained for my taste; it was mixed with sand and ash I think. And thats not all as we also walk I see lots and lots of waste from karabaos. It was very dusty and very hot because the sky is very clear and no chance of raining. After looking around I see fields for agriculture and a lot trees which is very beautiful compared to the sights in the city. After a long hike we arrive at the sulfur lake and the lake was indeed mixed with sulfur because its smelled like rotten eggs, and I was very depressed when we cannot go to the rock in the middle of the lake which is full of mysteries. And as I look around I see burned trees and ashes all over the ground which points that the locals here practices slash and burn to replenish the nutrients of this island. But when we arrived at the lake the ground is full of rocks which are igneous and sedimentary rocks. I cant recongnize metamorphic rocks at that time so I cannot say that there are or there are no metamorphic rocks in that site. After having lunch there we began traveling again going to the site where there are cooled lavas. But because most of my companions are tired and cannot survive another hike we went to a different route going back to the coastline and using the boat again to go around escaping a fun and exciting hike that I would probably enjoy. After arrive to the coastline of our next destination. We now hike for a few minutes and this time its very fine grained and the ashes is very hot because of the sun. So after taking a walk on black sands. We arrived to see the cooled lava and it was an aa flow because of the way it was cooled. There were very jagged and very sharp rocks everywhere. So after that trip we began to go back and surprisingly on the way back the waves became more violent and its started to

rain. The waves clashes to the boat violently that all of us onboard were soaked. This experience was very nice and if I had a chance to do it again, I would do it again.