What is special about Mount Pinatubo?
Pinatubo is most notorious for its VEI-6 eruption on June 15, 1991, the second-largest terrestrial eruption of the 20th century after the 1912 eruption of Novarupta in Alaska. Complicating the eruption was the arrival of Typhoon Yunya, bringing a lethal mix of ash and rain to towns and cities surrounding the volcano.
How long was Mt. Pinatubo sleeping?
For 600 years Mount Pinatubo slept. On 2 April it exploded and has been erupting ever since. As soon as the volcano showed signs of rousing, the evacuation began. Eventually some 64 000 Filipinos and thousands of Americans from nearby Subic Bay Naval Base and Clark Air Base left their homes.
What caused Mt. Pinatubo to explode?
In March and April 1991, however, molten rock (magma) rising toward the surface from more than 20 miles (32 kilometers) beneath Pinatubo triggered small earthquakes and caused powerful steam explosions that blasted three craters on the north flank of the volcano.
What is the interesting facts of Mount Ragang?
Ragang has an elevation of 2,815 metres (9,236 ft) and a base diameter of 32 km (20 mi). It is the most active volcano on Mindanao, and is part of a string of volcanoes in what volcanologists call the Central Mindanao Arc.
What kind of volcanic eruption was Mount Pinatubo?
Pinatubo is a stratovolcano in the Philippines. June 15, 1991, it erupted, resulting in the second-largest eruption of the 20th century. The ash plume height reaching more than 40 km (28 mi) high and ejecting more than 10 km3 of magma, classifying it as plinian/ultra plinian eruption style and VEI 6 in eruption size.
How was Mt Pinatubo formed?
It is a subduction-related volcano, formed by the Eurasian Plate sliding under the Philippine Mobile Belt along the Manila Trench to the west. Molten material related to the complex tectonics associated with the subducting slab, rises through the lithosphere and generates the volcanism typical of subduction.
Is Pinatubo an active volcano?
Pinatubo has been relatively quiet since the 1991-1992 eruption, but it is still active. It remains to be determined whether or not more explosions at the volcano are likely during the current eruptive period.
How did Mount Pinatubo get its name?
Overview of the Mount Pinatubo area The word ‘pinatubo’ means ‘to have made grow’ in the Tagalog and Sambal languages, which may suggest a knowledge of its previous eruption in about AD 1500, although there is no oral tradition among local people of earlier large eruptions.
What are some facts about Mount Pinatubo?
Here are some facts about Mount Pinatubo. Mount Pinatubo is located in the Cabusilan Mountains on Luzon, an island in the Philippines. It as an active volcano and it is classified as a stratovolcano – with tall, steep sides formed from layers of volcanic ash, pumice and hardened lava.
What is the second largest eruption of Mount Pinatubo?
Pinatubo 1991. The June 12, 1991 eruption column from Mount Pinatubo taken from the east side of Clark Air Base. Mt. Pinatubo is a stratovolcano in the Philippines. June 12, 1991, it erupted, resulting in the second-largest eruption of the 20 th century. The ash plume height reaching more than 40 km
What happened to Pinatubo?
Pinatubo was heavily eroded and obscured from view by dense forests which supported a population of several thousand indigenous Aetas . Pinatubo is most notorious for its VEI -6 eruption on June 15, 1991, the second-largest terrestrial eruption of the 20th century after the 1912 eruption of Novarupta in Alaska.
What is the size of the ash cloud of Mount Pinatubo?
It is estimated that ash was propelled more than 30 km into the air and pyroclastic flows (a current of hot gas and rocks) extend more than 10 km from the summit of Mount Pinatubo. The ash cloud from the 1991 eruption covered an area of more than 100,000 sq km and the island of Luzon was plunged into darkness.