March, 2000
In our first special edition of Earth Science in the News, we profile the Mayon volcano in the Philippines. This strato volcano (similar to Mt. Shasta in California and Mt. Ranier and Mt. St. Helens in Washington) is the most active in the Philippine chain, with a history of eruptions dating back to 1616. An eruption in September 1984 caused the evacuation of ~73,000 residents, while the February 1814 eruption killed 1,200 people. This story is from Disaster Relief, an organization that specializes in information on disasters around the world.
This volcano erupted in June, 1999. The Earth Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History describes the June eruption and describes the geologic setting. For the most recent information on the eruption, check with the Update on Current Volcanic Activity from Volcano World.
Another well-known volcano in the Philippines is Mt. Pinatubo, which had a major eruption in 1991. In contrast to Mayon, Mt. Pinatubo has only erupted twice since 1380.
Information on Mayon Volcano: The Quick Reference Notes on the Mayon volcano from the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology provides details on the volcano's history and monitoring techniques and includes bulletins and hazard maps. The Global Volcanism Program of the Smithsonian Insitute also has a Volcanic Activity Report on Mayon. This includes detailed descriptions on the 1968 and June 1999 eruptions and highlights on volcanology in the Philippines. Finally, the USGS Volcano Project has related information on the Mayon Volcano.
Related Web Sites
Global Volcanism Program: The GVP is a program of the Smithsonian Institution. The Web site contains preliminary notices of activity, volcano activity reports, basic data on volcanoes around the world, and other neat stuff.
Volcano World: This is an excellent educational Web site with lots of information on volcanos. The site features "Volcano of the Week", a volcano email alert, virtual field trips and special pages for teachers and students.
USGS Cascade Volcano Observatory: This Web site is an excellent entrance into the USGS Volcano program. It includes information on volcano hazards and monitoring, both in the United States and around the world.
Savage Earth - Out of the Inferno: Volcanoes: This is a Web page based on the PBS series "Savage Earth". It provides background on volcanoes, with video clips and animations.
Volcanoes: This is a online version of the USGS publication by Robert Tilling. It provides a nice introduction to the nature of volcanoes.
Related Classroom Activities
Can we predict volcanic eruptions?: This is an online module for students which guides them the how and why of volcanoes.
Building Volcano Models: This Web page from Volcano World presents several different examples on building volcano models.
Volcanoes: A NASA Classroom of the Future Web site with several on-line modules and activities.
Science News Report: Write a report on this article for your class! Here is a suggested outline to help you organize the report.
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