Volcano and Eruption free essay sample

Volcano Essay A volcano is an opening, or rupture, in a planets surface or crust, which allows hot magma, volcanic ash and gases to escape from below the surface. It is a raised area of land, which usually forms a mountain or hill. Volcanoes are generally found along tectonic plates- diverging or converging. There are four main types of volcanoes, dome, shield, composite cone and cinder cone, which are based on their shape. There are three levels of activity, active, dormant and extinct. Mt.Tambora, located on Sumbawa Island off Indonesia, erupted on April 10th in 1815 and is still known as the deadliest eruption today. It killed around 91,00 people. Mt. Tambora is a composite cone volcano and is still active today. The 1815 eruption consisted of mostly volcanic ash, which was so large it went up into the stratosphere and spread throughout the earth. Within seconds, ash, lava and molten rock (pyroclastic flow) started to speedily come down the volcano. We will write a custom essay sample on Volcano and Eruption or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The temperature of that was about 1,250 °C. The pyroclastic flow totally destroyed a small Indonesian town, just a few kilometers from Mt.Tambora. The entire population of the town was instantly killed. Before Mt. Tambora erupted, it is estimated to have been about 4,000m tall. The ? eruption reduced it to 2851m, and left behind a caldera with a 7km diameter. There were no really early signs of eruption but there were some a few days before. They did not have technology back then to monitor the volcano so people weren’t prepared and therefore thousands died. Though the eruption was short the long-term effects were huge. The main impacts from the Mt. Tambora eruption were environmental. The ash from the volcano was so large and spread so far it prevented a large portion of the Sun’s energy to penetrate through to earth. Therefore, the following year of 1816 was incredibly cold and known as â€Å"The year without a summer†. With barely any sun there were major repercussions. It caused the largest famine of the 19th century and major loss of livestock. Vegetation couldn’t grow and hypothermia was common, due to all these conditions around 71,00 people died during 1816. It even snowed in Quebec during summer!Indonesia is a LEDC country and it took years and years for Sumbawa Island to get going again. It is believed it cost around $56 million in recovery, which is a lot for a poor country. Once all the ash settled into the ground from the atmosphere the soil was fertile and was eventually good for growing crops. It is assumed that people were not happy with the abnormally cold weather but had to adapt and move on. It would have been difficult time for them. Mt. Tambora was certainly a very significant event in environmental history and is an interesting eruption.