2011: The Year in Volcanic Activity

[Forgiven]

In Focus with Alan Taylor / The Atlantic
Dec 16, 2011

Out of an estimated 1,500 active volcanoes around the world, 50 or so erupt every year, spewing steam, ash, toxic gases, and lava. In 2011, active volcanoes included Chile's Puyehue, Japan's Shinmoedake, Indonesia's Lokon, Iceland's Grímsvötn, Italy's Etna, and recently Nyamulagira in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In Hawaii, Kilauea continues to send lava flowing toward the sea, and the ocean floor has been erupting near the Canary Islands. Collected below are scenes from the wide variety of volcanic activity on Earth over the past year.

See all 36 photos here: The Year in Volcanic Activity - Alan Taylor - In Focus - The Atlantic

[Meg]

Beautiful pictures; the lightning shots are especially fascinating. Thanks for sharing.

[readyforhome]

Cool pictures. The pic's with the lightning in them were especially nice. They had a primal beauty to them that is beyond words. Anyone look at the comments at the bottom of the article? The debate about climate change it was a ragin'. Just goes to ask the question, if volcanoes are pumping our carbon into the atmosphere than what are we supposed to do about them? Tax them?