Volcano Stem Project

The composite volcano sometimes known as stratovolcanoes are steep symmetrical cones that make up some of the most famous mountains for example Mount St. Helens, Mount Fuji and Mount Rainier. These volcanoes have formed over hundreds of thousands of years through multiple eruptions. Composite volcanoes are fed by a conduit system which taps into a reservoir of magma deep within the earth says universetoday.com. This magma can erupt out of several vents across the composite volcano's flanks or from a large central crater at the summit of the volcano.

Composite volcanoes have done some of the most devastating eruptions in the history of the world such as Mount Saint Helens. This is because Composite volcanoes have a more powerful eruption than any other type of volcano. The explosion caused huge landslides to occur and these were devastating to the land. Scientists knew Mount Saint Helens was active after 123 years when the area around the mountain had 2 months of 3.5 and 4.0 quakes near the mountain. The 2 months of eruptions caused the mountain to shift and change its appearance and after the eruption was over Byline Manual says A horseshoe-shaped crater and a barren wasteland were all that remained. Since the eruption back in 1980 the land has recovered much of its natural beauty but Manual says its likely Mount Saint Helens wont stay quiet forever.

Another Popular Composite volcano is Mount Fuji located in Japan. The volcano last erupted in 1707 which is over 300 years ago. The volcano is the tallest mountain in japan and has a unique shape to it. The mountain has been used for the military and many other activities such as climbing but it is almost impossible to do so. The mountain is only open for a limited time during the year. The mountain is also very sacred to its people that live near it this is one of the many factors of why its only open for a short opening of time. After hearing about these mountains I had to choose which composite volcano I wanted to study and recreate.

The mountain I decided to do Nevado Ojos del Salado the second largest mountain in the Western Hemisphere. Nevado Ojos del Salado translated to english is eyes of salt this is because the mountain has salt lagoons shaped like eyes on slopes around the mountain. The mountain is 22,608 feet tall and that is 6,998 feet taller than Aconcagua. The mountain has 2 peaks one in Chile and the other in Argentina. The volcano last erupted in 700 A.D but has shown signs of activity since 1993 when the mountain began to emit gasses and steam while smells of sometimes engulfs the summit says Stewart Green from www.thoughtco.com. The mountain sits between the western and eastern hemisphere and is the 2nd largest in both of these hemispheres. This volcano interested me because of it being the world's biggest composite volcano and has been recently active. This made me think that this would be a unique volcano to build for my project. The volcano has a steep and unique shape making it significant to all different types of volcanoes. It is also one of the few volcanoes in the world that sit on 2 different plates but are the 2nd biggest on these plates.

The eruption of my volcano will be a devastating one when happens if it ever does because of the way the mountain was formed. The mountain is above a very large caldera that caused multiple craters to form. When an explosion occurs there will be multiple pyroclastic flows like the major rhyodacitc explosion 1000-1500 years ago according to www.volcanodiscovery.com. This means that the people around the mountain or in close range of it will most likely not be able to escape the pyroclastic flow mostly because it has never been recorded that anyone can outrun pyroclastic flow. After the pyroclastic flow occurs the ash from the volcano would make the skys dark and suffocate any people that survived the pyroclastic flow. In conclusion the volcano I chose for my project Nevado Ojos Del Salado is not only unique but a ticking time bomb of destruction that can happen at any moment just like the movie we watched on netflix with yellowstone park.

Bibliography

(Ojos Del Salado) VolcanoDiscovery: Volcanoes Worldwide - News, Info, Photos, and Tours to Volcanoes and Volcanic Areas, Earthquake Information / VolcanoDiscovery, www.volcanodiscovery.com/ojos_del_salado.html.

(Green) Facts About Nevado Ojos Del Salado in Chile. Thoughtco., Dotdash, www.thoughtco.com/climbing-facts-about-nevado-ojos-del-saldo-755938.

(Cooper) Can You Really Outrun a Volcano? HowStuffWorks Science, HowStuffWorks, 10 Aug. 2018, science.howstuffworks.com/nature/natural-disasters/can-outrun-volcano.htm.

(Ojos Del Salado) Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 17 Sept. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ojos_del_Salado.

(List Of Famous Volcanoes With Information & Locations) Active Wild, 17 Oct. 2016, www.activewild.com/famous-volcanoes/.

(Source: United States Geological Survey, University of Utah, National Geographic,Thomas Reichert,The Geological Society of London) Space Shuttle Challenger, www.earthlyissues.com/supervolcano.htm.

(James) Mount St Helens Facts. Primary Facts, 27 Sept. 2016, primaryfacts.com/1587/mount-st-helens-facts/.

Study.com, Study.com, study.com/academy/lesson/types-of-volcanoes-shield-cinder-cones-composite-cones.html.

(Bagley) Volcano Facts and Types of Volcanoes. LiveScience, Purch, 6 Feb. 2018, www.livescience.com/27295-volcanoes.html.

(Top 10 Most Beautiful Mountains in China) China Whisper, 9 Dec. 2014, www.chinawhisper.com/top-10-most-beautiful-mountains-in-china/.

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