Jane and Joe do Volcanoes

Thanks GeoDave from the SLN for sharing that with us. I'm sure pupils will find it very useful.

Mount St Helens and Pyroclastic Flows

An excellent video from the BBC explaining how pyroclastic flows actually kill people and it also includes real time footage of the Mount St Helen's eruption of 1980. An excellent video providing further information on a popular case study.

Volcanic Eruptions in Tonga

An undersea volcano is erupting in the Tonga islands, shooting clouds of volcanic smoke, steam, and ash thousands of feet into the sky above the South Pacific ocean.
Authorities said Thursday the volcanic eruption does not pose any danger to Tonga islanders at this stage, and there have been no reports of fish or other animals being affected.
Spectacular columns are spewing out of the sea about 6 miles from Tonga's main island of Tongatapu—an area where up to 36 undersea volcanoes are clustered, geologists said.
Trade winds continued to blow volcanic gas and steam away from the island Thursday.
Taniela Faletau, deputy commander of the Tonga police force, said coastal villages close to the roiling ocean site were not yet at risk from the volcanic eruption. No warnings have been issued.
Coastal residents said the volcanic steam and ash column first appeared on Monday morning, after a series of sharp earthquakes were felt in Tonga's capital, Nuku'alofa.
The underwater volcanic eruption was taking place near the low-lying twin volcanic islands of Hunga Tonga and Hunga Ha'apai, within sight of Nuku'alofa.
Large amounts of pumice thrown up by the volcanic eruption would likely clog beaches on the southern coast of the nearby Fiji Islands within a short time, Mafi said.
Tonga, a 170-island archipelago about halfway between Australia and Tahiti, is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire—an arc of earthquake and volcanic zones stretching from Chile in South America through Alaska and down through Vanuatu to Tonga.

Super volcanoes

Yellowstone National Park in the USA is one of the best known locations of super volcanoes on the planet.



At Brecon High School we are lucky enough to have Dr John Grattan of the University of Aberystwyth come visit year 12 and year 13 students on February 9th 2009, to share his knowledge of super volcanoes. We look forward to his visit.

Mount St Helen's Song

With thanks to Joanna Blackmore for bringing this video to my attention. Not only is it educational but it is a bit of fun as well. Enjoy boys and girls!

Red Hot Chile's Smoking Volcano

Mount Chaiten is looking set to blow its top....


The Chilean volcano showed new signs of activity in the recent days and so residents are having to prepare for the potential eruption.

Click here to see video footage from a plane showing the newly ruptured dome.

Back in January 2008 and again in May 2008, the volcano was showing signs of an eruption. The image below is one taken during an electric storm.

At the time there were fears that Mt Chaiten would continue to release ash into the atmosphere for months (See video). As a result, a huge area around the volcano had to be evacuated but ash was carried by the wind across large parts of South America, prompting fears of a major health crisis.