14 DAY TRIAL // Vulcan was the Roman god of fire, the equivalent of Hephaistos in the Greek mythology. In ancient times people regarded volcanoes as gods, which were worshiped. Old Greeks believed the Earth was a floating disc over the surface of an ocean whose storms triggered earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Anaximander (611-547 BC) believed that cold and heat turned on the volcanic eruptions. Plato (428-347 BC) supposed there was an underground river of incandescent matter that fueled the mouth of the volcanoes. For Aristotle, disciple of Plato, the volcanic eruptions and earthquakes were the spasms of a living being named Terra.
The capital of the Ecuador, Quito, is located close to Pichincha, a volcano located in the northwest side of the city. Popocatepetl ("smoking mountain"), the highest volcano in Central America, is located 60 km (39 mi) away of Ciudad de Mexico. It had over 20 major eruptions since the arrival of the Spanish in 1519.
The most famous volcano of South America is Cotopaxi, located in the Andes, about 75 km (50 mi) south of Ecuador's capital, Quito, one of the highest active volcanoes in the world. It is the second highest in Ecuador, after Chimborazo (an inactive volcano). Cotopaxi rises from a highland plain of about 3,800 meters (12,500 ft) and has glaciers, even if located on the Equator, starting from 5,000 meters high (16,400 ft). There have been more than 50 eruptions of Cotopaxi since 1738, the last one in 1904. During a war between the Incas and the Spaniards in 1534, the volcano erupted and put an end to the fighting as both armies fled from the battlefield.
Naples (Italy) is located just 11 km (7 mi) of Vesuvius. In time, Vesuvius erupted various times. Since the famous eruption in 79 AD, when it destroyed Pompeii and Herculaneum (it killed about 16,000 people), it has erupted over 50 times. In 1631, it killed 4,000 people. Then the word "lava" started to be used, from Latin "labire" (to slip). The 1944 eruption covered in ash the nearby cities of Massa and San Sebastiano. Vesuvius is the only volcano in the European mainland that erupted in historical times. The crater is 1280m tall and today the population living around the volcano is of about 3 million souls; at least 300,000 of those living nearby would be killed by the next eruption if not evacuated beforehand.
The myth of the Atlantis, first mentioned by Plato 2400 years ago, could have been based on the pre-Greek Minoan civilization from Crete or Santorini. The huge eruption of the volcano of the Santorini island, 70 km (43 mi) north of Crete, was up to 10 times more powerful than the Krakatoa's eruption in 1883. Volcanic stones even reached the Egyptian shore of the Sinai peninsula and the eruption was heard over 3,000 miles (4,800 km) away. The eruption destroyed everything on an area of 150 km (92 mi). The Santorini's huge cone fell into the sea together with the western part of the island, provoking a big tsunami wave that flooded many islands in the Aegean Sea.
The stifling volcanic ash impeded for days the sunlight from reaching the eastern basin of the Mediterranean. About 80 cubic km of Santorini either blew up or fell into the sea, and all nearby life forms were erased. Still, the island has erupted 14 times between 198 BC and 1950. The 1659 eruption killed 70 people. The inhabited part of the island was devastated again in 1956 by a massive earthquake, and from time to time, the giant volcano spits smoke.
Auckland in New Zealand is located amongst 48 small volcanoes. The former volcanic depressions form two ports. The island Rangitoto, the closest to the port of Auckland, appeared 600 years ago from the water. At its emergence, a neighboring Maori village was buried in ash. The volcanic cone of Maugakiekie is located in the center of the city. The Auckland's volcanoes are covered by parks, sheep farms, sport courts, graveyards, and even houses, as many people prefer the panorama offered by the slopes of the volcanoes. The best agricultural terrains in western US have a volcanic origin. In favorable conditions, vegetation in a terrain covered by lava can regrow in less than one year following the eruption.
In Indonesia, the best rice crops are obtained from the rich soils located close to the volcanoes. Krakatoa volcano, located on an island in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra in Indonesia, produced on August 26-27, 1883 the largest volcanic explosions ever recorded, which generated the loudest sound historically reported: it was distinctly heard as far away as Perth in Australia (1930 mi (3100 km)) and the island of Rodrigues near Mauritius (3000 mi (4800 km)). Atmospheric shock waves reverberated around the world seven times and were detectable for five days. 36,417 people died killed mostly by the tsunamis that followed the explosion.
The eruption destroyed two thirds of the island of Krakatoa and eruptions of the volcano since 1927 have built a new island in the same location, called Anak Krakatau (child of Krakatoa). In the year following the eruption, average global temperatures dropped by as much as 1.2o C. Weather patterns continued to be chaotic for years and temperatures did not return to normal until 1988. The 1983 eruption of Krakatoa had the power of 200 megatons of TNT, about 13000 times the yield of the Little Boy bomb that devastated Hiroshima. Concussive air waves from the explosions traveled seven times around the world, and the sky was darkened for days afterwards. Sea waves triggered by the eruption were recorded as far away as the English Channel. The island is still active, with its most recent eruptive episode having begun in 1994.
Now although the weaker Anak Krakatoa, just 985-ft (300-m) tall, could still erupt, thousands of people live on the Mount Kelud (Java island), facing Krakatoa, as the rich volcanic soil makes them live in the shadow of the danger.
Mount Pel?e (French:"Bald Mountain") is the most famous active volcano in the Caribbean, located on the French Martinique island. Its eruption in 1902, caused the worst volcanic disaster of the 20th century, destroying the city of Saint-Pierre and killing about 26,000 to 36,000 people. This blast brought to the attention of the public and governments the hazards and dangers of an active volcano. Mount Pel?e could reawaken at any time. The eruption in 1985 of the volcano Nevado del Ruiz (Columbia) made 21,000 victims, killed by the torrents of volcanic mud that swallowed the city of Armero.