Location, Location, Location...

Mount Pinatubo is part of the Luzon Volcanic Arc in the Philippines. The Luzon Volcanic Arc parallels the west coast of Luzon.

All of the Volcanoes in the Luzon Volcanic Arc are composite. Mount Pinatubo has one of the highest peaks in the Arc, at 1,485 meters above sea level. The peak of Mount Pinatubo is along the Caldera Rim, the rim of the 1-¼ mile-wide crater left after the June 15^th, 1991 explosion.

A Map of Mount Pinatubo and its surrounding area:

 Some nearby volcanoes are Mount Mayon, Mount Ragang, Mount Canlaon and Mount Taal. 

Population Comparison Time!

This is just a short post comparing the population of areas surrounding Mount Pinatubo pre-eruption and post-eruption.

Before the June 15^th, 1991, eruption, 30,000 people lived in small villages around the volcano. After the eruption, everything, including the U.S. Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines was evacuated. Now, over 500,000 people live in the vicinity of the volcano. People never learn…

I thought that this was strange because more people occupy the areas near the volcano AFTER the supermassive eruption. I thought that people would be more likely to stay AWAY from the exploding mountain, but for some reason, more people live there now. 

Most Explosive Volcano ON EARTH!!!!!!

Since the June 15^th, 1991, eruption was the first and only eruption in more than 6 centuries; I don’t think this volcano would get very far in the “Most Active” superlative. So, I have decided that this volcano IS the most explosive volcano ON EARTH! MWAHAHAHAHAH- ok, sorry.

I think that this is the most explosive volcano for many clearly obvious reasons. The first one, just look at the image in the "June 15th, 1991 Eruption" post. Speaks for itself, right? Secondly,after the most recent eruption, about 1/6^th of the top of the volcano was blown off. That’s not a very easy thing to do, is it? Third and finally, the ash released from the eruption caused climate changes in the surrounding area for years.

So you can obviously see that Mount Pinatubo IS the Most Explosive Volcano ON EARTH!!!!!!!!

The June 15th, 1991 Eruption

On April 2^nd, 1991, the first signs of volcanic activity were noticed after more than 600 years of inactivity. Finally on June 15th, a major eruption blew off the top of the volcano, creating a 1 1/4-mile wide crater. The peak of the volcano was lowered by 260 meters, from 1,745 meters to 1,485 meters. The new peak is along the Caldera Rim. 

 Here is a picture of the eruption:

 

You may have noticed that the eruption looks particularly violent. Well, being a composite volcano that hasn’t erupted for 600 years, you can probably imagine the pressure that would build up in that amount of time. All this pressure would obviously cause a massive explosion such as the one shown in this photograph.

 This massive eruption caused the end of 847 peoples lives. During the eruption, 20 million tons of sulfuric acid were released into the surrounding air.

The explosion cost several hundred million dollars in damages, and forced the eruption of the U.S. Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines.