VOLCANOES

By Felipe Argote

Hard to believe that beneath our feet there is a glowing mass of thousands of Celsius degrees Ready to extrude a smoking chimney. We are standing on a large fireball that insists on escaping to the surface.

In Krakatoa east of the island of Java, Sumatra, Indonesia was an island called Rakat. In 1883, from the month of May began eruptions, but it was not until August, just the 26th, I felt the explosion that rocked the entire area and made the island disappear physically. The volcano Krakatoa was an extraordinary explosion of 200 megatons. This is 100.000 times stronger than the U.S. atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. The explosion was heard in Australia, 7,600 miles away. The subsequent tsunami wave rose to 40 meters in its tide carrying hundreds of villages and tens of thousands of lifes. The ash rose 80 miles high, flying over the land for three years.

Another terrible volcanic eruption that was historic was that of Vesuvius, the Italian peninsula. This had a Major volcano eruption in 79 AD, burying the cities of Pompeii and Herculianus that are located in what is now the province of Naples. The volcano buried the cities of Pompeii and Herculianus so suddenly that has allowed 17 centuries after the city to recover intact as terrified residents running or just looking for the dead while breathing the stale air of the eruption sulfur product. When Pompeii was rediscovered in 1748 Achieved over 2,000 bodies was discovered intact. Some with expressions of terror nearly 2,000 years ago. Today the volcano is still active and live on its outskirts just over 25,000 people.

Another famous volcano is at Mount Pelee is the destroyer or bare mountain located on the island of Martinique. This majestic volcano stood holding in her skirts to the prosperous city of Saint Pierre bathed in turn by the clear waters of the Caribbean. The rash literally removed the city from the face of the earth wiping pass 30.000 people in the year 1902. Incredibly,Only two people survived in Saint Pierre that was covered by lava glowing at temperatures above 500 degrees Celsius. The two survivors were a shoemaker who was in a basement called Leon Compère-Léandre Cyparis and a convict named Louis-Auguste, who was in an underground cell.

For us just that in Panama we have a Baru volcano, Although there is also that of the Stud Farm and the Anton Valley, Although this two dont lookas these volcanoes are out of this world. On the Baru volcano is Believed that its last eruptions were 150 years before Christ.

However, right next to us in Costa Rica there are 112 volcanoes, of which five are currently active. The Arenal, the Irazu, the Turrialba, the Rincon de la Vieja and the Poas. This one Which is considered has the largest crater in the world and is undoubtedly one of the most visited

I have visited the Posas and sincerely is an impressive sight with its environment sulphide and its smoke, did not know what time to leave the eruption. It's definitely a different experience so overwhelming. What a beautiful and devastating nature can be!