Height above sea level - 1122 m. The caldera of the volcano is about 3 km in diameter, at the bottom of it there are several crater lakes. The volcano was not active for 9400-9500 years, until a major eruption began on May 2, 2008, the ejection reached 30 km in height. On May 6, the lava reached the village, and almost the entire population was evacuated within a radius of 50 km. (Photo by NASA):
Sarychev Volcano, Russia
Sarychev Volcano is an active stratovolcano on Matua island the Great Kuril Ridge; one of the most active volcanoes Kuril Islands. The early stage of the 2009 eruption was recorded on June 12 from the International Space Station. (Photo by NASA):
Klyuchevskaya Sopka, Russia
Klyuchevskaya Sopka (Klyuchevskoy volcano) is an active stratovolcano in the east of Kamchatka. With a height of 4,850 m, it is the highest active volcano on the Eurasian continent. The age of the volcano is approximately 7,000 years. (Photo by NASA):
Volcano Klyuchevskaya Sopka. See also the article "Volcanoes of Kamchatka". (Photo by NASA):
Pavlova Volcano, Alaska
Pavlova Volcano is an active stratovolcano near the southern tip of the Alaska Peninsula. The diameter of the volcano is about 7 km. It is one of the most active volcanoes in Alaska, with over 40 historical eruptions to its credit. The last major volcanic eruption occurred in 2013. (Photo by NASA | ISS Crew Earth Observations):
Puyehue, Chile
Puyehue is an active volcano in southern Chile. The height above sea level of the peak is 2,236 m. On June 4, 2011, several small tremors occurred in the region of the volcano, and an eruption began in the evening. A huge column of smoke and ash rose over the Puyehue volcano. A cloud of volcanic ash is blown by the wind towards Argentina. According to the National Service of Geology and Mining of the country, the volcano threw out a column of ash up to 10 km high. (Photo by NASA | GSFC | Jeff Schmaltz | MODIS Land Rapid Response Team):
Eyjafjallajökull volcano eruption, Iceland
A volcanic eruption near the Eyjafjallajökull glacier in Iceland began on the night of March 20/21, 2010. The main consequence of the eruption was the release of a cloud of volcanic ash, which disrupted air traffic in Northern Europe. (Photo by NASA | GSFC | Jeff Schmaltz | MODIS Land Rapid Response Team):
Volcano Nyiragongo, Congo
Since 1882, 34 eruptions have been recorded; it also happened that volcanic activity continued continuously for many years. The main crater of the volcano is 250 meters deep and 2 km wide; it sometimes forms a lake of lava. One of the most violent eruptions of Nyiragongo occurred in 1977; then several hundred people died from fiery streams. (Photo by NASA):
Shin Moedake Volcano, Japan
Following a powerful earthquake, the Shin-Moedake volcano woke up in Japan. It is located in the southwest of the country - on the island of Kyushu. The volcano threw piles of stones into the sky, and a giant cloud of ash formed over the mountain. (Photo by NASA | Jeff Schmaltz | MODIS Rapid Response Team):
Mount Merapi, Indonesia
Merapi is the largest active volcano in Indonesia, located on the island of Java near the city of Yogyakarta. Height 2914 meters. Major eruptions occur on average every 7 years. One of the most destructive eruptions was recorded in 1673, when several cities and many villages at the foot of the volcano were destroyed. . (Photo by NASA):
Api Volcano, Indonesia
Api is one of the most active active volcanoes in Indonesia on Sangeang Island. The height of the volcano is 1949 meters. (Photo by NASA):
Mount Etna, Italy
Etna is an active stratovolcano located on east coast Sicily. It is the highest active volcano in Europe. Now the height of Etna is 3329 m above sea level. Etna is the largest active volcano in Italy, exceeding its closest "rival" Vesuvius by more than 2.5 times. According to various sources, Etna has from 200 to 400 lateral volcanic craters. On average, once every three months, lava erupts from one or another crater. See also article "
Chaiten is an active volcano in Chile.
Height above sea level - 1122 m. The caldera of the volcano is about 3 km in diameter, at the bottom of it there are several crater lakes. The volcano was not active for 9400-9500 years, until a major eruption began on May 2, 2008, the ejection reached 30 km in height. On May 6, the lava reached the village, and almost the entire population was evacuated within a radius of 50 km. (Photo by NASA):
Sarychev Volcano, Russia
Sarychev Volcano - an active stratovolcano on the island of Matua of the Great Kuril Ridge; one of the most active volcanoes of the Kuril Islands. The early stage of the 2009 eruption was recorded on June 12 from the International Space Station. (Photo by NASA):
Klyuchevskaya Sopka, Russia
Klyuchevskaya Sopka (Klyuchevskoy volcano) is an active stratovolcano in the east of Kamchatka. With a height of 4,850 m, it is the highest active volcano on the Eurasian continent. The age of the volcano is approximately 7,000 years. (Photo by NASA):
Volcano Klyuchevskaya Sopka. See also the article "Volcanoes of Kamchatka". (Photo by NASA):
Pavlova Volcano, Alaska
Pavlova Volcano is an active stratovolcano near the southern tip of the Alaska Peninsula. The diameter of the volcano is about 7 km. It is one of the most active volcanoes in Alaska, with over 40 historical eruptions to its credit. The last major volcanic eruption occurred in 2013. (Photo by NASA | ISS Crew Earth Observations):
Puyehue, Chile
Puyehue is an active volcano in southern Chile. The height above sea level of the peak is 2,236 m. On June 4, 2011, several small tremors occurred in the region of the volcano, and an eruption began in the evening. A huge column of smoke and ash rose over the Puyehue volcano. A cloud of volcanic ash is blown by the wind towards Argentina. According to the National Service of Geology and Mining of the country, the volcano threw out a column of ash up to 10 km high. (Photo by NASA | GSFC | Jeff Schmaltz | MODIS Land Rapid Response Team):
Eyjafjallajökull volcano eruption, Iceland
A volcanic eruption near the Eyjafjallajökull glacier in Iceland began on the night of March 20/21, 2010. The main consequence of the eruption was the release of a cloud of volcanic ash, which disrupted air traffic in Northern Europe. (Photo by NASA | GSFC | Jeff Schmaltz | MODIS Land Rapid Response Team):
Volcano Nyiragongo, Congo
Since 1882, 34 eruptions have been recorded; it also happened that volcanic activity continued continuously for many years. The main crater of the volcano is 250 meters deep and 2 km wide; it sometimes forms a lake of lava. One of the most violent eruptions of Nyiragongo occurred in 1977; then several hundred people died from fiery streams. (Photo by NASA):
Shin Moedake Volcano, Japan
Following a powerful earthquake, the Shin-Moedake volcano woke up in Japan. It is located in the southwest of the country - on the island of Kyushu. The volcano threw piles of stones into the sky, and a giant cloud of ash formed over the mountain. (Photo by NASA | Jeff Schmaltz | MODIS Rapid Response Team):
Mount Merapi, Indonesia
Merapi is the largest active volcano in Indonesia, located on the island of Java near the city of Yogyakarta. Height 2914 meters. Major eruptions occur on average every 7 years. One of the most destructive eruptions was recorded in 1673, when several cities and many villages at the foot of the volcano were destroyed. . (Photo by NASA):
Volcanic eruption is an interesting but dangerous phenomenon. Rarely does anyone dare to come close to them. And then most of the photos are from the air, which is no less dangerous. Have you seen what eruptions look like from space?
1. Stratovolcano Sarychev
The eruption of the 1,446-meter stratovolcano Sarychev on Kuril Islands taken by NASA astronauts from the International Space Station. The shock wave dispersed the clouds, so the astronauts managed to shoot such a detailed and detailed frame. 
2. Wolf
The eruption of Wolf - the highest volcano in the Galapagos Islands. The height of the volcano is 1,710 meters, and a lake with several fragile islands formed directly in its crater. Last eruption started May 25, 2015.
3. Volcano Klyuchevskaya Sopka
Volcano Klyuchevskaya Sopka, also known as Klyuchevskoy volcano, is an active stratovolcano in the east of Kamchatka. It is the highest (4,835 m) active volcano on the Eurasian continent, which is over 7,000 years old. 
4. Etna
Etna is the largest European stratovolcano, located on the east coast of Sicily, near the cities of Messina and Catania. Now the height of Etna is 3.329 m above sea level, and it often changes from eruption to eruption. 
5. Volcano Merapi
A picture taken from the DigitalGlobe satellite shows a powerful eruption of Mount Merapi in Indonesia. Recently, a volcanic eruption on the outskirts of the city of Yogyakarta in the central part of the island of Java has killed 194 people, 320 thousand residents have lost their homes.
IN Ancient Rome the name Vulcan was worn by a mighty god, the patron of fire and blacksmithing. We call volcanoes geological formations on the surface of the land or on the ocean floor, through which lava comes to the surface from the deep interior of the earth.
Often accompanied by earthquakes and tsunamis, major volcanic eruptions have had a significant impact on human history.
Geographic feature. Significance of volcanoes
During a volcanic eruption, magma comes to the surface through cracks in the earth's crust, forming lava, volcanic gases, ash, volcanic rocks, and pyroclastic flows. Despite the danger posed to man by these mighty natural objects, it was thanks to the study of magma, lava and other products of volcanic activity that we managed to gain knowledge about the structure, composition and properties of the lithosphere.
It is believed that thanks to volcanic eruptions, proteinaceous forms of life could appear on our planet: eruptions released carbon dioxide and other gases necessary for the formation of the atmosphere. And volcanic ash, settling, became an excellent fertilizer for plants due to the potassium, magnesium and phosphorus contained in it.
The role of volcanoes in regulating the climate on Earth is invaluably important: during the eruption, our planet “lets off steam” and cools, which largely saves us from the effects of global warming.
Characteristics of volcanoes
Volcanoes differ from other mountains not only in composition, but also in strict external outlines. From the craters at the top of the volcanoes, deep narrow ravines formed by streams of water stretch down. There are also entire volcanic mountains formed by several nearby volcanoes and their eruptions.
However, a volcano is not always a mountain breathing fire and heat. Even active volcanoes can look like straight cracks on the surface of the planet. There are especially many such "flat" volcanoes in Iceland (the most famous of them, Eldgja, has a length of 30 km).
Types of volcanoes
Depending on the degree of volcanic activity, there are: current, conditionally active And dormant ("sleeping") volcanoes. The division of volcanoes according to activity is very conditional. There are cases when volcanoes, considered extinct, began to show seismic activity and even erupt.
Depending on the shape of volcanoes, there are:
- Stratovolcanoes- classic "fire mountains" or volcanoes of the central type of a cone-shaped shape with a crater at the top.
- Volcanic crevices or fissures- Faults in the earth's crust through which lava comes to the surface.
- calderas- depressions, volcanic cauldrons formed as a result of the failure of a volcanic peak.
- Shield- are called so because of the high fluidity of the lava, which, flowing for many kilometers in wide streams, forms a kind of shield.
- lava domes - formed by the accumulation of viscous lava above the vent.
- Cinder or tephra cones- have the shape of a truncated cone, consist of loose materials (ash, volcanic stones, boulders, etc.).
- complex volcanoes.
In addition to terrestrial lava volcanoes, there are underwater And mud(spewing liquid mud, not magma) Underwater volcanoes are more active than terrestrial ones, through them 75% of the lava erupted from the bowels of the Earth is ejected.
Types of volcanic eruptions
Depending on the viscosity of the lavas, the composition and amount of eruption products, 4 main types of volcanic eruptions are distinguished.
Effusive or Hawaiian type- relatively quiet eruption of lava formed in craters. The gases released during the eruption form lava fountains from drops, filaments and lumps of liquid lava.
Extrusion or dome type- accompanied by the release of gases in large quantities, leading to explosions and emissions of black clouds from ash and lava debris.
Mixed or strombolian type- abundant lava output, accompanied by small explosions with ejection of pieces of slag and volcanic bombs.
hydroexplosive type- characteristic of underwater volcanoes in shallow water, accompanied by a large amount of steam released when magma contacts water.
The largest volcanoes in the world
The highest volcano in the world is Ojos del Salado located on the border between Chile and Argentina. Its height is 6891 m, the volcano is considered extinct. Among the active "fire mountains" the highest is Llullaillaco- volcano of the Chilean-Argentine Andes with a height of 6,723 m.
The largest (among terrestrial) in terms of area is a volcano mauna loa on the island of Hawaii (height - 4,169 m, volume - 75,000 km 3). mauna loa also one of the most powerful and active volcanoes in the world: since its “awakening” in 1843, the volcano has erupted 33 times. by the most big volcano the planet is a huge volcanic massif Tamu(area 260,000 km 2), located at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.
But the strongest eruption for the entire historical period was produced by a “low” Krakatoa(813 m) in 1883 in the Malay Archipelago in Indonesia. Vesuvius(1281) - one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world, the only active volcano in continental Europe - is located in southern Italy near Naples. Exactly Vesuvius destroyed Pompeii in 79.
In Africa, the highest volcano is Kilimanjaro (5895), and in Russia - a two-peak stratovolcano Elbrus (North Caucasus) (5642 m - western peak, 5621 m - eastern).
We want to show you a series of photographs taken from space, which reflect this phenomenal natural phenomenon.
He was photographed on June 12, 2009 aboard the International Space Station. The Sarychev volcano is one of the busiest in the Kuril archipelago.
The eruption was captured by astronauts aboard the space shuttle Endeavor in 1994.
Astronauts from the International Space Station took this picture on May 18, 2013.
Volcano Manam is located 13 kilometers from the coast papua new guinea and forms an island 10 km wide. This is a stratovolcano consisting of two craters, both active, but large eruptions are characteristic only for the southern crater. The photo was taken on June 16, 2010.
After awakening on June 4, 2011, the volcano continued to spew smoke for at least two days. It is located in Chile, right on the border with Argentina.
NASA's Terra satellite flew over a volcano in Iceland on May 6, 2014.
The Nyiragongo lava lake has been drained and refilled several times during eruptions that have occurred in recent decades. In 2002, lava reached the city of Goma, killing dozens of people.
The volcano erupted on January 26, 2011. Scattered ash swirled over the city of Miyazaki, which caused the cancellation of flights, trains to stop and the closure of schools in the area. The image was taken by the Terra satellite on February 4, 2011.
Merapi is one of the most active volcanoes in Indonesia, its height almost reaches 3000 meters. About 50 thousand people permanently live in the region, they cultivate fertile soil fertilized with lava, but are exposed to the danger that the eruption brings with it. The photo was taken on August 24, 2003.
At the end of May 2013, the Api volcano woke up on a small island in Indonesia, which caused the cancellation of many flights. The column of smoke rose up to 20 km in height.
Etna is the highest active volcano in Europe.
After more than 9,000 years of silence, this Chilean volcano woke up again on May 2, 2008. 4,000 residents of the city of Chaiten, located 10 kilometers from the epicenter, were forced to evacuate by ship.
