VolcanoesVolcano is an emotive word, often romanticized. Many people, thinking about volcanoes, consider them thrilling, even glamorous. Etria and Vesuvius are well-known examples, and the momentous destruction of Pompeii is one of the oldest disaster stories in history. But what is a volcano? And where, how and why does volcanism exist? Are eruptions predictable, and how dangerous, or even beneficial, are they? How do they affect the environment and influence climatic conditions? This is a clear and detailed book which fully answers these questions and describes the volcanic phenomenon in all its aspects. With eyewitness accounts, ranging from Vesuvius in A.D. 79 (the younger Pliny) to Krakatoa in 1883, and other well-documented terrestrial and sub-marine instances, Dr. Peter Francis has produced an up-to-date and absorbing study, often surprising in its conclusions and always thought-provoking. - Back cover. |
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Africa andesite avalanche basalt lavas beneath blast bomb caldera Chile cloud collapse continental continued copper cubic kilometres deep deposits destructive plate margins dome dykes Earth earthquake effects ejected erosion erup fissure fragments geological geyser Hawaii Hawaiian hundreds Iceland ignimbrite island kind known Krakatoa lake large volumes lava dome lava flows layer less lunar magma major mantle Mars mass material Mayon meteorite metres high mid-ocean ridges million years ago minerals Moon mountain Mt Pelée mudflows nuées ardentes obsidian occur oceanic crust particles Pelée pile planet Plate Tectonics Plinian eruption Pompeii produced pumice pyroclastic rocks result rhyolite ridges rift rille round scoria cone seismic similar slopes solid South square kilometres St Pierre steam Strombolian structure sulphur summit crater surface taking place tion town transform faults tsunamis valley vent Vesuvius viscous volcanic activity volcanic eruptions volcanic rocks volcano