Two Volcano's currently erupting, Kilauea, and Fuego in Guatemala, where are the other threats? Read on.

Whats the big deal about Volcanoes, aren't they just leaking Mountains?

There sure is, but where?

I am completely amazed at the eruption of Kilauea on the big island of Hawaii. Volcanos are one of those events I know very little about them, so I read all I can. The human suffering is unimaginable, the loss of property, injury, and the mounds of Lava that have built up. Some of the Lava deposits are 100 feet deep, where does it all come from? I know the eruptions begin deep within the earth, but it seems a huge cavern would be opening up from wherever the ash, molten rock, and lava come from. Capable of launching rocks, and debris that weighs several tons miles into the air. The local authorities stated as long as people stay outside of the 3-mile zone they should be safe. My thought after I read that was, "How often do objects go straight up, and straight down?" What if the refrigerator-sized rock was ejected at an angle, I wonder how far it would be launched. It's a tragedy of great proportions, and to think there are always at least 12 eruptions currently worldwide.

Guatemala is experiencing an earthquake currently as well. The Fuego Volcano erupted Sunday with the largest explosion in more than 40 years. So far 60 human lives have been taken, it is a tragedy that defies words. 3100 people have been evacuated, 1.7 million have been directly affected. The eruption began May 3, 2018, Sunday, actually yesterday. People are wondering if the eruption in Hawaii is in any way related to the recent blast in this Central American Nation. They are not related, nor do they affect each other in any way, Fuego is in the "Ring of Fire", Kilauea is not. At any rate the "Ring of Fire" is not actually a connected ring, the events all occur on separate tectonic plates, with Kilauea in the center. I was watching the newscasts tonight, on it was a video of a huge cloud of ash rushing down the road with people fleeing in front of it. I wonder how in the world can a person prepare for such a Catastrophic event. Especially when the exploding eruption occurred in such a short amount of time. As a comparison, the wildfires in Northern California moved so fast the residents in many cases had less than a minute to escape. In Guatemala they had zero time, some people lost their lives buried in Ash.

There are a lot of potential hot spots for Volcano's worldwide.

I think about how small my problems are as I sit and have coffee in the morning looking at the ancient inactive volcano across the valley from my house, Mount Diablo. Named by Spanish explorers long ago because of the deep rumbles inside of it, which are less frequent now than long ago. The Diablo range of mountains is the western boundary of the large central San Joaquin Valley of California, the Sierra Nevada's form the eastern side. I have been thinking of the volcanos that have erupted recently in Hawaii (three weeks ago) and Guatemala (this past weekend), and it makes me wonder about a few things. One is how many volcanos are a threat to the world today? How many dormant volcanos are there and living near a dormant one, is there anything I should be concerned about? It looks like a volcano, it is severely eroded by the millions of years of wind, rain, and sun beating down on it.

On a backpacking hike many years ago in the Sierra's I was on the top of "Iron Mountain", for those unfamiliar it is across a deep valley from the "Strawberry Mine," I was as far east one is able to travel on a road. We parked the car at a trailhead and hiked for a while until we came upon a cliff, looking across the valley to the east as far as Crowley Lake. 15 miles south from Mammoth Lakes on the Eastern Slope. it's a tourist destination for people from L.A. It was about 50 miles from where we were at the time, a vast wilderness between us and it, mountains stretched what looked like forever to the north and south. I wonder now how many volcanos dormant and active occupy this mountain range from Southern California to Canada. In fact, Crowley Lake is a dormant Volcano as well.

There are approximately 1511 active volcanos worldwide, however, there are an estimated 10,000 under the surface of the ocean, about 1500 have erupted in the past 10,000 years, many are located in the Pacific Oceans "ring of fire". The Hawaiian Islands are the center of the ring of fire, presiding over a hot spot on the ocean floor which is continuously erupting, forming that chain of islands in the middle of the Pacific. The Hawaiin chain stretches for 30,000 miles, raising the floor of the ocean on average 18,000 feet. The earth's crust spreads apart there as the new crust emerges above the ocean floor, it causes many of the earth's volcano eruptions. This is one of the most active chains of volcanos in the world. The spreading of the crust forces a collision with land masses, Japan and California for instance, resulting in more volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. An exact count of worldwide volcanos is dependent on the definition, active only, active, dormant, or extinct, the count is difficult, truthfully we just don't know how many there are.

Volcanos in the Cascade Range and the Aleutian chain form part of the ring. Indonesia forms another section of the ring of fire, in fact, it is the most active area, experiencing the most land base eruptions throughout the world.

Photograph of a classic eruption

Some scientists estimate there are between 10 and 20 volcanos erupting at this very moment somewhere on the earth, with 50-70 in the past year, 160 every 10 years, 550 have been active in all of recorded history (approximately 4,000 years). 1500 (land) have erupted in the past 10,000 years as stated above. A grand total of 6,000, below the surface of the ocean and on land have occurred in the past 10,000 years, most under the surface of the ocean.

The ten most active volcanos in the worlds are:

1) Eyjafjallajokull, Iceland: "Island Mountain Glacier" as translated. This is the volcano which caused major disruptions in air travel during 2010.

2) Mount Vesuvius, in Italy it has the distinction of being in the most densely populated volcanic area in the world.

3) Sakurajima, Japan: Lava flows in 1914 formed a land tie to Osumi, that's a lot of Lava.

4) Mount Merapi, Indonesia: An active entity known as "fire mountain", is on the border of central Java and Indonesia, it has erupted regularly since 1548, I wonder if that's something a person gets accustomed to.

5) Taal Volcano, Philippines: Located 31 miles from the capital Manila on the island of Luzon and has erupted several times in the past.

6) Ulawun, Papua New Guinea: This is the highest volcano in the Bismarck volcanic arc, the first eruption was recorded in 1700.

7) Mount Nyiragongo-DR Congo: One of the most active volcanos in Africa located near the town of Goma in the Eastern Republic of Congo.

8) Galeras, Colombia: Active for over one million years, located in south Colombia near the border with Ecuador rising 4,276 meters above sea level, eruptions have occurred since the Spanish invasion.

9) Popocatepetl, Mexico: The second highest peak in Mexico, and is a serious threat to the Capital of Mexico City inhabited by 9 million people.

10) Mauna Loa, Hawaii: The largest volcano on Earth in volume and area, one of five responsible for the creation of that Island State. (Erupting currently)

What can be done to prepare for an eruption by the people living in the shadows of these and other potentially explosive natural wonders?

*Have an evacuation kit ready to go, often earthquakes and rumblings will precede an eruption.

* Have a plan for evacuation in advance

* Study and learn what to do before and after an eruption

* Be prepared to survive on your own.

* Stay in contact with loved ones.

* Be prepared to take care of your pets.

* If possible, find a secure place upwind of the eruption

(Follow this Link to read the CDC's paper on being ready for a Vocanic Eruption)

I began this blog with the intent of writing about the recent eruptions in Hawaii, and Guatemala however as I began to read I discovered a much deeper reality, and that is, Volcanoes are a threat everywhere in the world. Many are unknown, capable of literally popping out of the ground at any time, such as the Yellowstone Calderon, being in the news lately it would be disastrous if it erupted. The entire Eastern part of the U.S. would suffer from the wind-blown ash. Some of us are unknowingly living with the threat, it may very well be a case of "ignorance is bliss".

I live 15 miles due east of Mount Diablo, it is dormant, the chances of it erupting are very minimal, or so "they" say. I still wonder if I should do something like to move? Nothing that drastic I'm sure, but if I see a puff of smoke being emitted from the top, and feel the earth shake, I may start moving faster than I knew I was able.

Thanks for reading and sharing, most of us do not face the threat of being in the path of a Volcanic eruption. These events stir up the human compassion in most of us, so much happens in such a short amount of time afforded little advance notice. All natural disasters are terrible, it is impossible to rank which is the worst. While Hurricane Harvey was having its way through Texas I wrote an article in which I stated Hurricanes must be the most devastating event humans have to endure. Each passing natural event I make the same comment. They are all horrible, I will no longer attempt to make a best to worst distinction. Thanks again, follow me on G+, and share my blog.

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