An Active Week on the Tectonic Planet

After an unstaffed week off, the USGS volcano list is back with 26 volcanoes shaking and belching and oozing. Indonesia tops the list with 5 eruptions but there are also 5 spewing mountains in South America and Central America (little Guatemala has 3 itself, but I don't think that's the reason for the influx of young Guatemalans spewing across the US border - trace that to the Bush lead congress of '06 and a thoughtful but bad law - of course, our current president is still blamed - and the fact that Guatemala is a corrupt, dysfunctional, dangerous place).
Two Italian islands make the list, hosting Stromboli and Etna that are both quite active these days, the Kamchatka peninsula, as usual, has 4 exploding mountains but only one on the nearby Aleutians of Alaska, Shishaldin, and Kilauea on Hawaii's big island is, as always, piling up more fresh basalt.
Japan, always on the list but with only 2 this week and Bulusan on the Philippines main island round out the large list.  If you want to see volcanoes, you don't have to go far around the Ring O Fire to see some active Earth action up close (although, I would guess most of these mountains have warning areas around them to keep the curious or death seekers out).  I'll continue to check the list and visit vicariously through the power of the wild, and wooly web.
Lots of heat is still trying to get out from deep inside this four and a half billion year old planet and these 26 volcanoes are a direct result.  There is likely lots more action along the 45 thousand miles of mid-ocean ridges circling the earth but at the bottom of the sea floor they go mostly unnoticed, quietly driving the plate activity that has lead to the 26 volcanoes on this weeks list.  Subduction gets the headlines but the sea-floor spreading is the cause, today (and everyday) on Earth.

26 Volcanoes - A Happening Week

The USGS volcano list is a who's who of world wide volcanoes with most of the Ring of Fire involved and some other frequent visitors and even a couple of less frequent but still quite active volcanoes. In the eastern ring, from Peru up to Popo in Mexico there is action (the US northwest appears quiet) and the Aleutians, Kamchatka, the Kurils, Japan, Mariana and Indonesia have the top and western edge of the ring belching and shaking with activity.  Etna and Stromboli are both fired up on their respective Italian islands (perhaps bummed by their football team's poor showing in the world cup) and even the Indian ocean makes the list with Reunion off the east coast of Madagascar.  Of course, Kilauea is erupting (since '83).
I'll get back with more details...26 volcanoes on the list...it's a wild, hot planet, be careful out there, Today on Earth.

Sinabung & Kelud Blast Indonesia

The volcanic archipelago of Indonesia now has two violently erupting volcanoes: Sinabung continues on Sumatra, and Kelud fires off a valentine blast on Java. Sinabung has been spewing ash, rolling out lava and tumbling pyroclastic flows down its flanks since early in the new year. Thousands have been evacuated and more than a dozen killed as Indonesia's western island, Sumatra, has dealt with the ongoing eruptions.
The island of Java got into the action yesterday as Kelud blasted into action sending ash into the stratosphere, and noise of the eruptions more than 100 miles into the countryside. At least 2 (from a quick glance on-line) have been killed but thousands are fleeing the area, scrambling to evacuation centers hastily set up outside the eruption zone. As a nation of volcanoes, my guess would be that there are plans in place at all government levels as well as for families and individuals to get out of town when the big mountain in the backyard gets wild. Photos from both volcanoes are both spectacular and scary; easy to look on in wonder and awe from a safe, quiet post in central Virginia but knowing that Indonesians fleeing the scenes are likely finding little wonder or beauty in the violent side of Earth.
The USGS site will not show the current list of active volcanoes (but it hasn't changed since I checked Thursday) and while there are other volcanoes spewing and oozing all eyes are on Indonesia.  The equatorial climate and rich volcanic soil of the island nation are wonderful in quiet times but... when the source of that rich soil fires up, it's time to get out of town and hang on, today on Earth!

Ring of Fire: Eastern Rumbles

The Ring of Fire is still where most of the action is on the big, erupting planet but the eastern portion takes over the list (the list was only "gone" for a day or so)this week. Kamchatka rules again with 5 volcanoes belching and spewing in various degrees with two neighbors erupting just south of there in the Kuril Islands. A little further south and Japan shows 3 on the list - the new island that formed off the SE coast is now bigger than the original island. Two Indonesian eruption are on the list with evacuations happening around Sinabung.  At the bottom of the ring, New Zealand's White Island has stirred back up.
Off the ring and on THE hot spot, Hawaii; Kilauea is spewing and burning nearby forests, not at all unusual for the worlds most active volcano. Etna's current eruption continues with lava and ash ejections on Sicily.  The western side of the ring only shows two eruptions this week: Santa Maria is oozing lava and raining ash on nearby villages in Guatemala and Reventador is back on the list after ash emissions in Ecuador.
Hope you're in a safe spot, far enough away from the action on the tectonic-ing planet, today on Earth.

No Volcanoes???

Perhaps the same folks responsible for the hard to use, ultra touchy, click, click, click, click, click to get the simplest info, impossible to zero in, USGS earthquake site have now taken over the volcano site. It would appear there is only one volcano active on Earth this week and that's in Spain. Spain???
I'm not buying that...but, perhaps the cold weather and snow in DeeCee have shut things down, the volcano website has some lovely pictures but no useful information, even on the one volcano that seems to be erupting in Spain.
We'll check back after the spring thaw.

Early '14 Volcano Stories

2013 wound down with the formation of a new island southeast of Japan (it has now issued enough new Earth to have joined into one with its neighboring island) and mostly the usual Ring of Fire suspects on the list. The new year brings no real surprises to the list; perhaps only 3 on the active list on the Kamchatka peninsula is a bit of a surprise. 3 in Indonesia's no real surprise although the newly stirring mountains have been off the list for some time.
Japan, the US and Central America all have two on the list, with PNG and South America also noted. Etna  and Kilauea remain the non-Ring exceptions but hardly surprising, both keep their  neighborhoods on alert/notice on an almost daily basis.
For those of us in non-explosive zones the days pass with little thought of mountains spewing ash and gas and molten rock. I, myself, like it that way although seeing one of those active spots on Earth remains on my "to do" list.
If you are in a position to check one out, go for it...but, be careful out there, today on Earth.