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Nowadays people are concerned with global warming and climate change. Many of them see the cause in human activity on the planet, and try to reduce human influence on the nature. Obviously these actions will benefit human kind and our nature, but I doubt that humans can in any way influence the global changes on our planet, which most likely occur as a result of nature laws and mighty forces we can’t comprehend. To make this point more clear I will show an example. It is common knowledge nowadays that industrial emissions of carbon dioxide into atmosphere results in global warming through greenhouse effect. But if you compare industrial emissions to volcano eruption, many times more of carbon dioxide emitted into atmosphere during the eruption.
There is also a clear connection between volcanic activity and earthquakes. In case of Pompeii, it had a major earthquake twenty years before the Vesuvius eruption. Archeological excavations show that not all the houses were fully restored in the period between the earthquake and eruption. Some of the excavated houses show signs of earthquake destruction.
One can judge the power of volcanoes from volcanic island Krakatau, which is located in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra in Indonesia. Krakatau’s best know eruption was in August 1883. And now please take a close look at the following numbers. As a result of this eruption three islands in the area underwent global changes - the relief, depth of the sea at the coastline and the coastline shape were changed. Emissions of gas, ashes and pumice reached the height of up to 80 kilometers (50 miles)! Ashes covered area of 750,000 square kilometers (272,202 square miles). In radius between 20 to 40 kilometers (12-25 miles) the thickness of erupted matter was up to 40 meters (131 feet). The ocean waves (tsunamis), which resulted from the eruption, reached heights of up to 30 meters (100 feet). The population of two islands was totally destroyed.
Official reports show that in eruption 40,000 people died. Tsunamis created by the eruption circled the whole planet, and the roar of eruption was heard several thousand kilometers away from the volcano. Airwave caused by the eruption has circled earth three times. Dust rains have reached Europe.
I showed all these examples here so that you could feel the power of volcanoes and imagine the obstacles in the way of volcanologists, whom I’d like to mention.
Volcanologists deserve respect for many reasons – they are much like soldiers in line of fire. Their experience and courage help in predicting of eruptions and thus defense of populations living nearby. Photographers often accompany volcanologists. Thanks to them we can observe the volcanoes in action and feel the might of nature forces. One of the best photographers to capture the intense moments of volcanic eruptions is Vadim Gippenreiter. His photos will probably tell you much more about volcanoes than this article.

The next article in Volcano Series is written by a guest writer Ira. It describes New Zealand’s place in the history of volcanoes. The article is titled New Zealand - One big volcano?

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Many nations make volcanoes their national icons - best example is Japan. Images of Fuji, also known as a dormant volcano Fujiyama, are very common in Japan. The most known painter of Japan - Katsushika Hokusai – created his famous series of engravings about the country and named them “36 views of Mount Fuji”. On each engraving, one way or the other, you can see its majesty magnificent volcano Fujiyama.
Most of us are also familiar with the story of Mount Vesuvius. Its eruption, which buried whole town of Pompeii, began suddenly at nighttime. Many citizens must have died without even waking up. Their bodies, carbonized, remained in the houses, as if they were still sleeping. Those who didn’t sleep tight and awoke to the eruption are pictured in famous painting of Karl Briullov named “The Last Day of Pompeii”.
The city of Pompeii, which was buried in 24 hours under thick layer of volcanic ashes during the eruption, now revealed (up to 80% of the whole city) by archeologists. It gave us precious knowledge about life of ancient inhabitants of Mediterranean region, their crafts, hobbies, art, and everyday life. One curious fact is that in this city was found the first sign, which warned about the presence of dog in the house. Actually it wasn’t just sign, it was a pretty big mosaic of a frightening Kerberos. “Cave Canem” was engraved under the Kerberos. In Latin it means “Beware of Dog”.
Let us get back to Volcanoes. The theory that deep inside our planet located heated magma, and our firm ground is only crust a couple of kilometers thick, is hardly acceptable for ordinary person, and also was never scientifically proven.
None of the chinks drilled in an earth’s crust reached magma, and if it were really a nuclear hell raging inside our planet, where the excess heat from it would go? It is more logical to assume separate lone “pockets” of nuclear activity, which end up with volcanic eruptions. But what causes the creation of a new volcano or activation of a sleeping one? Volcano can sleep for hundreds of years, and then awake again, covering blossoming valleys with stones and ashes, and forcing the near populations to run for their lives. What a breathtaking unrevealed processes, and vast area for curiosity!
My next article in series of articles about volcanoes is titled The Might of Volcano in Numbers

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Everybody is familiar with human’s passion for fire. Infants reach out their little hands to burning flame and get their first lesson in pain getting a burn. The most beloved place in the house of the whole family is usually by the fireplace. One can stare endlessly at the capricious dance of the flames. The force of fire bewitches the person, frightens off wild animals, warms and kills. This explains the demonic possession of humans by fire, especially well described in ancient Greek and Roman mythology.
The God of Fire and forge craft – Hephaestus, from the Greek mythology, was especially worshiped as God of underground fire in areas with active volcanoes (Sicily, Lemnos). Hephaestus, unlike other Olympian deities, didn’t spend his existence in feasts and idleness, but liked physical work. As god of forge craft Hephaestus was honored by handicraftsmen, and teenagers arranged a baton races in his honor while passing a burning torch instead of baton. Legends tell that Hephaestus’ smithy was located deep under the ground in bowels of mount Etna.
Hephaestus’ twin in Roman mythology was named Vulcan. Vulcan’s oldest shrine in Rome, called the “Volcanal”, was situated at the foot of the Capitoline in the Forum Romanum. In plain words, Volcanal was a high platform standing at the place of senate and other public assemblies. But not only pagans such as ancient Greeks and Romans worshiped the underground fire. Modern religions also revere it greatly.
The Christian’s concept of the worst part of the “after death” world is called “Gehenna” or simply Hell and situated, of course, not in heavens, but in bowels of the ground. Dante Alighieri gives us a very picturesque insight into the world hell. He shows how the sinned souls are burning in the eternal fire for their earthly passions that don’t comply with Christian morale.
It is clear that much of the myths and religious beliefs described above came to people under impressions of volcanoes – these unrestrained and ruthless fire-spitting mountains.

More interesting facts about Volcanoes in my next article Volcanoes in Art and Science

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The main attraction of Hanmer Springs is definitely the Thermal Pools. They offer a luxurious, relaxing soak, water slide fun for the kids or private spas and beauty treatments. More adventurous can try quad biking at the Hanmer Adventure Center. You can also hire a mountain bike and explore the Hanmer Forest Park with its narrow tracks, flat roads, fantastic scenery with undulating hills and stream crossings. Other activities available in Hanmer Springs are jet boating and rafting on the spectacular Waiau River, and also archery and clay bird shooting

People looking for a more relaxed holiday can ride horses, play golf or just take a stroll around the delightful town, which as a true village atmosphere. Walking to the top of Conical Hill is also recommended.

Recently the town’s expansion has been dramatic. New gift shops have sprung up offering a wide array of souvenirs and works by New Zealand artisans. On weekends artist market is held on the local green in the middle of town.

Hanmer Springs is also serves as a gateway to the Molesworth station, Rainbow and Lake Tennyson station. In the summer you can follow gravel road through the stunning Rainbow Valley to St. Arnaud and Nelson Lakes National Park.

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Captain James Cook was born in England in a poor farmer’s family. Cook didn’t receive any formal education and began his career sailing as a 19 years old sailor. During his life he completed three important journeys, which made famous not only Cook himself but also the whole England. During his fist journey he reached Tahiti, discovered and mapped East Coast of Australia and New Zealand. His second journey began in 1772. Cook became the first explorer to cross Antarctic Circle. The goal of his third expedition was to find a passage between Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. He and his crew reached the beginning of arctic ices but they couldn’t find a passage. During this expedition Cook inspected Islands in the northern part of Pacific Ocean including Hawaii. When he first set foot on Hawaii (it happened on January 8th 1778), Cook was very surprised by the ceremonial celebrations in his honor. Natives thought that Cook was actually god Lono, whose comeback was predicted by Polynesian legends. For the whole month Cooks crew “tested” the hospitality of the natives and then sailed off. But Cooks fleet had to return to the Islands soon after leaving because one of the ships had a broken mast. This time, when fleet arrived at the shores, Natives weren’t so happy to meet people who took their goods. The relations between the crew and natives became very strained after a lifeboat was stolen from one of the ships. Cook decided to descend to shore accompanied by a small part of his crew, and take the chief hostage until the islanders return the stolen boat. The aggression of assembled crowd (according to ship’s logbook there gathered more than twenty thousand natives) provoked Cook to act inadequately, which was taken as a threat by natives. The islanders attacked the captain and his crew and torn their bodies. The remaining sailors fled to the ship, and afterwards, armed with firearms, avenged the death of their captain and friends by bloody massacres.

The achievements of this expedition weren’t recognized at all. When the ships returned home, England was in the middle of war with American colonies, and the expedition ships were immediately put to war.

Cook’s family fate was also very sad. Missis Cook outlived all her children and died at the age of 93 spending all her life surrounded by artifacts gathered by her husband during his voyages. Family shield with Pacific Ocean’s logo remained without heir.

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