Why Do People Live Near Volcanoes?

Why do people tend to live near volcanoes?

It may seem counterintuitive to live near a mountain that could rain ash and lava down on you and your family, but there are benefits, too. When the ground near Leilani Estates opened and began spilling out noxious fumes and lava from Mount Kilauea last week, residents of the neighborhood near the Hawaiian volcano fled.

1. The eruption displaced many people who are living near the most active volcano on Earth, which frequently erupts along its East Rift Zone,
2. Lava from its eruptions often flows toward the ocean, but this time it headed inland.
3. Several hundred people have taken refuge at churches, shelters, and with other Hawaiian residents nearby as more cracks and vents in the ground opened in residential areas.

This begs the question: Why live near an active volcano when you may have to leave your home at a moment’s notice, moving through air filled with ash or toxic fumes that make it hard to breathe, because of an eruption? For starters, many people depend on volcanoes for their survival.

The geothermal energy of a volcano can power technological systems for nearby communities. Soil near active volcanoes is often rich in mineral deposits and provides excellent farming opportunities. Lots of people visit volcanoes each year, so jobs often pop up nearby in hotels, restaurants, gift shops, and as tour guides.

And some people simply do not have the financial resources to move. Then there are cultural and religious reasons. Jordan Sonner, a realtor living on the Big Island, has a home right outside of Leilani Estates, and rushed back to pick up important documents and her pets when she heard about the lava.

She told the Washington Post that she wasn’t so afraid of losing her home. “The way I kind of look at it is, the land doesn’t really belong to us. It belongs to Pele,” Sonner told the Post, referring to the Hawaiian volcano goddess. “We get to live on it while we can, and if she wants it back, she’ll take it.

I have good insurance.” Many residents of the area around Kilauea may also think it’s worth the risk, given the beauty, community, and remoteness of Hawaii. “We’ve been preparing for this, knowing that we bought in Lava Zone 1,” Stacy Welch, whose home in Leilani Estates may have been destroyed, told Time,

• We’ll be fine.
• We’ll just rebuild.” Volcanoes also tend to give notice that something is about to happen—Kilauea’s small earthquakes, increasing amounts of lava at the summit, and a change in the slope of the volcano all indicated in recent weeks that an eruption may happen soon.
• This isn’t necessarily the case in other parts of the world, where earthquakes, tornadoes, fires, and floods can spring up without warning.

The evacuation of nearby communities because of Kilauea’s eruption isn’t the only instance in recent months of people leaving their homes to get out of the path of an erupting volcano. When Mount Mayon in the Philippines began spewing ash into the air in January, tens of thousands of people needed to evacuate.

Why do people still live near Vesuvius?

People continue to live close to active volcanoes for many reasons. For example, people still live close to Mount Vesuvius in Italy because of the fertile soil that is found on the slopes of the volcano. This allows for agriculture to provide a stable income for people who live there.

This is similar to volcanic tourism creating jobs for populations that remain near volcanos, such as tours to see the volcanos of Hawaii. Furthermore, the last time Vesuvius erupted was in 1944, and before that 12,000 years ago, which will make people feel safer in the area, as the threat of another eruption seems unlikely.

Also, technological advances such as seismically measuring the movement of the ground will allow people to have some warning before an eruption and again make them feel safer. On the other hand, some people may not be able to afford to move away from the area, such as Montserrat where people still remain.

What are 10 benefits of living near a volcano?

Discover why people live close to volcanoes.3 min Updated: 26th January 2023 We all know it is dangerous to live close to a volcano. So, exactly why do people choose to live near volcanoes ? The answer is that living near a volcano actually provides several benefits, including the following:

Soil on the surrounding slopes is rich and fertile which makes the area a good place to farm. People are protected from floods as volcanic rocks absorb rainwater. Curating volcanic rocks can provide jobs for the community. The volcano will have hot springs which are beneficial to people’s health. There are hiking trails that lead to the top of the volcano allowing people to explore and sightsee. Geothermal energy from volcanoes can be used to heat homes and to create electricity. Volcanoes provide popular tourist destinations which means there are plenty of jobs in nearby hotels, restaurants and tourist facilities.

Now you know why people choose to live near volcanoes, here are some examples of places where people choose to do so: Naples, Italy Naples is a large city, Italy’s third largest urban area, with a population of over one million people. It borders the active volcano Vesuvius and has been a popular tourist destination since ancient times for this reason.

Mount Etna, Italy Mount Etna is Europe’s most active volcano and has been erupting continuously since the 17th century. It is also one of the largest volcanoes in the world by volume, which makes it attractive to live next to because there will always be a demand for volcanic rock curating jobs. Kilauea, Hawaii Kilauea is one of the world’s most active volcanoes and has been erupting continuously since 1983.

The volcano is located in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, which was established in 1916 because of its outstanding natural beauty. Different communities in this area provide housing for people who want to live close to nature and an active volcano. Mount Fuji, Japan Mount Fuji is Japan’s most famous national symbol, an active stratovolcano that last erupted in 1707-1708.

1. Many people choose to live near volcanoes even though there is a risk of another eruption because the natural environment of this area is so rich and diverse.
2. Pico de Orizaba, Mexico Pico de Orizaba is a large stratovolcano in Mexico, the third highest mountain peak in North America.
3. There is a large population living in its shadow because it provides rich volcanic soils where they can farm.

Santorini, Greece Santorini is a popular holiday destination and a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its unique volcanic landscape. It was formed by a large volcanic eruption in the middle of the second millennium BC that destroyed most of the island’s earliest settlements. There you have it! Now you can answer the question ‘ why do people choose to live near volcanoes ?’ and give some examples.

How do volcanoes affect people living nearby?

Key Facts About Volcanic Eruptions You can do many things to protect yourself and your family from the dangers a volcanic eruption can cause. The best way to protect yourself and your family is to follow the advice of local officials. Volcanoes spew hot, dangerous gases, ash, lava, and rock that are powerfully destructive. People have died from volcanic blasts. Volcanic eruptions can result in additional threats to health, such as floods, mudslides, power outages, drinking water contamination, and wildfires.

• Health concerns after a volcanic eruption include infectious disease, respiratory illness, burns, injuries from falls, and vehicle accidents related to the slippery, hazy conditions caused by ash.
• When warnings are heeded, the chances of adverse health effects from a volcanic eruption are very low.
• Exposure to ash can be harmful.

Infants, elderly people, and people with respiratory conditions such as asthma, emphysema, and other chronic lung diseases may have problems if they breathe in volcanic ash. Ash is gritty, abrasive, sometimes corrosive, and always unpleasant. Small ash particles can abrade (scratch) the front of the eye.

1. Ash particles may contain crystalline silica, a material that causes a respiratory disease called silicosis.
2. Most gases from a volcano quickly blow away.
3. However, heavy gases such as carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide can collect in low-lying areas.
4. The most common volcanic gas is water vapor, followed by carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide.

Sulfur dioxide can cause breathing problems in both healthy people and people with asthma and other respiratory problems. Other volcanic gases include hydrogen chloride, carbon monoxide, and hydrogen fluoride. Amounts of these gases vary widely from one volcanic eruption to the next. : Key Facts About Volcanic Eruptions

Why didn’t everyone flee Pompeii?

Many of them couldn’t escape – Estimates guess that 15,000 people were living in Pompeii around the time of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Roughly 2,000 people died during the disaster, which is about 13% of the population. Within the ruins of Pompeii there were several human remains found, so we can only assume that these people chose to stay behind.

The most probable reason for them to remain was that they were too poor, or they had nowhere else to go. In Herculaneum, there were far fewer human remains found. At first, archaeologists believed that everyone had survived; however, further discoveries told a more tragic tale. Along one strip of land, in and around arched vaults, over 300 skeletons were discovered.

These vaults lined what would have been an ancient shoreline since the volcanic deposits pushed the coastline a few hundred metres into the sea. Crowded within each vault were around 40 skeletons. These people were likely waiting in the hope of catching a boat to escape, but the boats didn’t make it in time, trapping each of them in a ferociously hot volcanic nightmare.

Why didn’t people in Pompeii just leave?

Sign up for Scientific American ’s free newsletters. ” data-newsletterpromo_article-image=”https://static.scientificamerican.com/sciam/cache/file/4641809D-B8F1-41A3-9E5A87C21ADB2FD8_source.png” data-newsletterpromo_article-button-text=”Sign Up” data-newsletterpromo_article-button-link=”https://www.scientificamerican.com/page/newsletter-sign-up/?origincode=2018_sciam_ArticlePromo_NewsletterSignUp” name=”articleBody” itemprop=”articleBody”> I see you jumping up-and-down with your hand in the air, saying “Ooo! I know this one!” I see you, too, over there groaning, “Doesn’t every body know?” And I see you, glowering, wanting your Mount St. Helens and annoyed I’m spending time on Pompeii instead. Look, I’ve got reasons. And Mount St. Helens has a little something to do with it. We’ll get to that. But first, let me tell you why I’m on about Pompeii. It’s because there’s one sure way to make a geologist howl : For me, though, these plaster victims prompt other thoughts too – about the city of Pompeii as a whole, and what it stands for. Partly that’s because they are so eloquently trapped in that no man’s land between the living and the dead, captured at the very moment when they lost their struggle against the fumes and lava. When my friend George read this, he tweeted, “Historian Mary Beard on the emotional power of Pompeii body castings. and how history is presented. But I can’t help wondering if Beard is confusing lava and ash. Can @Dhunterauthor help?” Of course! Pompeii was one of the first volcanic stories I ever heard. I’d known since the tender age of six* how the people of Pompeii perished, and that it had nothing to do with lava. Absolutely pyroclastic flows. I’d never forgotten it, not after seeing the casts of those agonized bodies left in the hardened ash. I knew you could outrun lava, but not these fantastically fast flows of ash, gas and rock. So how could Cambridge Professor Mary Beard, who had actually written books about Pompeii, get that important geological detail so very wrong? I figured I’d better ask. We had a brief conversation on Twitter, which brought to light the fact that she uses the word “lava” as a way of saying she’s not a volcanologist, and her book isn’t about the eruption but about life in Pompeii (not just the last few minutes of it). Fair enough. I asked her if she could at least use ash instead, to spare the feelings of geologists everywhere, and we ended up deciding that the Italian word “fango,” which means “mud,” must be popularized. It wasn’t mud that destroyed Pompeii, but the pyroclastic flow deposits did get reworked into lahars by water after deposition, so I’ll take it.** I’m glad Professor Beard wrote this article, and I’m even glad she made geologists the world over grind their teeth, because it’s a thought-provoking look at how we react to the people of Pompeii. It also points out that the city we see today is a lot more put together than Vesuvius left it. And her intentional use of the word “lava” makes us look harder at what really happened to Pompeii. I think a lot of us see the restored ruins and think of ash raining down, almost gently. Sure, it suffocated people and buried them, but it also lovingly preserved the buildings. Look! Even crockery is intact! Well, it’s true that some breakable items in protected cupboards and closets survived without breaking, but Pompeii’s death wasn’t gentle. A town doesn’t have to be buried in burning hot lava to suffer dramatically. The people in and around Pompeii spent a horrible last nineteen hours, and they didn’t have much of a chance. Vesuvius erupted around one in the afternoon on August 24th, 79 AD. Magma moving up into the mountain had been shaking Pompeii and surrounding cities for some time, but no one was much worried – earthquakes happened here frequently, and they didn’t know the connection between earthquakes and eruptions then. So when Vesuvius exploded, it came as something of a surprise. Pliny the Younger witnessed the eruption from Misenum, about 21 km (13 miles) away. Later, he would describe the eruption for Tacitus : “It was not clear at that distance from which mountain the cloud was rising (it was afterwards known to be Vesuvius); its general appearance can best be expressed as being like an umbrella pine, for it rose to a great height on a sort of trunk and then split off into branches, I imagine because it was thrust upwards by the first blast and then left unsupported as the pressure subsided, or else it was borne down by its own weight so that it spread out and gradually dispersed. In places it looked white, elsewhere blotched and dirty, according to the amount of soil and ashes it carried with it.” That was the phreatomagmatic phase, which lasted for hours. We know people close to the volcano were terrified: one of Pliny the Elder’s friends, Rectina, who lived right at its base, sent a message to him begging rescue: there was no escape for her except by boat. Pliny sailed off with warships to his death. In the towns, people who hadn’t fled tried to take shelter indoors as pumice rained down, first in a layer of white, then as the volcano tapped a different part of its magma chamber, gray. It hurled larger blocks of old lava and limestone at Pompeii along with the pumice. Some of the people who died outdoors had their skulls fractured by ballistic rocks. The pumice fall made it terribly difficult for people to flee Pompeii. What other choice did many have but to take shelter? I can only imagine what it must have been like inside, listening to those rocks hit the roof: the quiet roar of thick pumice falls, the sharper thuds of denser stones. Pitched roofs shed their loads, filling the courtyards and streets with deeper drifts of the bubbly stone. It was falling at a rate of 15 centimeters (6 inches) per hour. Flat and less steeply pitched roofs, which couldn’t shed the load, collapsed within hours. People taking shelter within those rooms were crushed and killed. The rooms, now open to the sky, filled with pumice: some rooms with 1 meter (3 feet), some up to 5 meters (16 feet). It’s an incomprehensible amount of pumice. It buried the first floors of buildings. Trying to flee through the stuff must have been nearly impossible; being trapped inside a house with a roof that survived the onslaught, only to see it pile up past the first floor, must have been horrifying. But some people survived. Only 394 bodies have been found in that deposit. The worst was yet to come for those who made it through this phase. The first pyroclastic flow reached the city toward morning. We don’t know exactly when it was: we know it was after the pumice stopped falling, after roofs all over the city had collapsed. People may have begun to venture out, looking for escape routes, assessing the damage, wondering if Vesuvius was done. That first flow was probably just the distal end of a somewhat small pyroclastic flow: we know it didn’t do much more than deposit a layer of ash over the pumice. We know from studies of pyroclastic flows at Mount St. Helens and other volcanoes that the further away from the volcano a flow gets, the less dense it is – so a small flow wouldn’t have been powerful enough to do much damage by the time it reached Pompeii, 8 km (5 miles) away. It was certainly more than enough to traumatize already traumatized survivors. Breathing through it would have been agonizing. But it was survivable. So was the next explosion that deposited a blanket of ash over the city, but produced no pyroclastic flows. There was a pause. Then the big one hit. A pyroclastic flow is no joke. It can be incredibly hot, although the ones that buried Pompeii were relatively cool. But low temperature doesn’t equal survivability. People who wish to take their chances with a cool flow of ash, gas and rock as opposed to burning hot lava have made the wrong choice. You can run away from lava. Depending on the viscosity, you can outwalk it. You can’t run away from a current of pulverized rock and volcanic gasses flowing at speeds of up to 240 kilometers (150 miles) per hour. The people of Pompeii had no chance when that flow hit them full-force. They barely would have had time to see it coming. This flow was huge. Its leading edge filled the air with ash, dust and gas. People who tried to flee it fell in the streets, unable to breathe. Then the main body arrived, powerful enough to tear through walls still standing after the roof collapses. Lower floors in Pompeii were protected by their pumice tomb, but above them, walls athwart the flow were bulldozed, surviving roofs ripped off. The flow poured in through those gaping wounds in the buildings; where roofs had managed to survive, ash and rock still found its way in through courtyards and other openings. Many people lived long enough to try to shelter their faces from the onslaught, but it buried them where they lay, some of them propped half-upright, fighting to breathe. Indoors or out, it buried them. When it was over, it had left a hard, dense, layer of pyroclastic material up to 3 meters (10 feet) thick. Vesuvius finished its cataclysmic eruption with a few more phreatomagmatic explosions, blanketing the remains of Pompeii with more layers of ash. By the end of the eruption, around 8 in the morning on August 25th, only a few of the tallest buildings remained visible, like tombstones on a grave. The deposits, heavy and rich with fine ash and rock fragments, settled, hardened over ages. The city and the citizens who had died with it would remain buried for almost two thousand years. We’ve found 650 of the people who died in that final pyroclastic flow. We’ve found their bones, and we’ve found the voids their bodies left in that hard deposit. We pour plaster in and an afterimage of a person emerges. Some of them look peaceful, some desperate and distraught. Some are huddled together, some alone. The adults are tragic to look at. The children are devastating. You can almost persuade yourself that the adults had a choice, that they decided to stay, tried their luck and lost, but you can’t say that about the kids. The adults didn’t have any good choices: the children had none at all. Those voids in the ash, now filled, are so much more than bones could ever be. They don’t allow much of a distance. They look eerily like us. They make Pompeii a uniquely human tragedy; they make two thousand years seem like yesterday. And they remind us of the tremendous power of pyroclastic flows. Lava is easy. We battle it off with seawater and hoses, We stand beside it as it runs by in molten rivers. We can’t always save our possessions from it, but we can generally outrun it. But a pyroclastic flow isn’t something we can run from. It destroys in an instant. This is why, when these subduction zone volcanoes wake up, it’s best for those nearby to get well out of the way, well in advance. The people of Pompeii didn’t know what was coming. But in the years since, we’ve learned. Mount St. Helens, among others, taught us what to watch for and what to expect. We’ve successfully predicted eruptions. We’ve evacuated cities before they could become modern Pompeiis, We’re learning to live with Vulcan’s forges. Pompeii reminds us never to forget what those mountains can do. References : Giacomelli, L. et al, 2003: The eruption of Vesuvius of 79 AD and its impact on human environment in Pompei, Episodes, 23. Luongo, G. et al (2002): Impact of the AD 79 explosive eruption on Pompeii, I. Relations amongst the depositional mechanisms of the pyroclastic products, the framework of the buildings and the associated destructive events, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research. Luongo, G. et al (2002): Impact of the AD 79 explosive eruption on Pompeii, II. Causes of death of the inhabitants inferred by stratigraphic analysis and areal distribution of the human casualties, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research. * Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Great Disasters, Every child should own a book like this. **She also assures me that “the book is technically accurate,” so geologists needn’t fear apoplexy if they pick it up. I certainly intend to! The views expressed are those of the author(s) and are not necessarily those of Scientific American.

Why do people live in Pompeii now?

No, Pompeii is uninhabited. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a protected archaeological site. Historians and archaeologists are continuing to excavate in the ancient city.

Are volcanoes good for the Earth?

Over geologic time, volcanic eruptions and related processes have directly and indirectly benefited mankind:

Volcanic materials ultimately break down and weather to form some of the most fertile soils on Earth, cultivation of which has produced abundant food and fostered civilizations. The internal heat associated with young volcanic systems has been harnessed to produce geothermal energy, Most of the metallic minerals mined in the world-such as copper, gold, silver, lead, and zinc-are associated with magmas found deep within the roots of extinct volcanoes.

Which country has the most volcanoes?

Which countries have the most volcanoes? – This list shows the 20 countries with the most volcanoes that have erupted during the last 12,000 years, though Holocene volcanoes can be found in 78 different countries (plus Antarctica). Totals include various categories of overseas territories, not simply “mainland” locations.

Volcanoes that are along a national boundary or are otherwise claimed by more than one country are included in the count for each. Although GVP tries to be consistent with data from official national agencies, there may be some minor differences due to varying criteria or other reasons. All data are current as of 17 August 2023.

There is also a,

Country	HoloceneVolcanoes	Active since1800 CE	Active since1950 CE	Currently Erupting (17 August 2023)
1. United States	165	63	42	Shishaldin, Great Sitkin
2. Japan	122	62	44	Kikai, Nishinoshima, Aira, Suwanosejima
3. Indonesia	120	74	58	Krakatau, Merapi, Lewotolok, Karangetang, Semeru, Ibu, Dukono
4. Russia	117	49	33	Klyuchevskoy, Ebeko, Bezymianny, Sheveluch
5. Chile	91	34	19	Villarrica
6. Ethiopia	52	10	5	Erta Ale
7. Papua New Guinea	46	20	15	Ulawun, Langila, Manam, Bagana
8. Mexico	38	9	7	Popocatepetl
9. Philippines	38	15	7	Mayon
10. Ecuador	36	18	12	Cotopaxi, Sangay, Reventador
11. Iceland	35	14	9
12. Argentina	34	6	3
13. Canada	24	1
14. New Zealand	24	9	8
15. Guatemala	23	7	5	Fuego, Santa Maria
16. Tonga	21	15	10	Tofua
17. Kenya	21	5
18. El Salvador	20	5	3
19. Antarctica	19	5	2	Erebus
20. France	19	11	9

Global Volcanism Program, 2023. Volcanoes of the World (v.5.1.1; 17 Aug 2023). Distributed by Smithsonian Institution, compiled by Venzke, E. : Global Volcanism Program | Which countries have the most volcanoes?

Does lava keep the Earth warm?

Scenario – Eruption of Mt. Stromboli, Italy Volcanoes are the most dramatic and rapid agents of geologic change. An erupting volcano can eject vast amounts of ash and gases into the atmosphere, and cover the ground with tons of lava flows and ash. Eruptions create new mountains, and tear down old ones as we watch.

Large eruptions are dangerous, sometimes killing tens of thousands of people at one time. But the most extreme impact of eruptions is their affect on Earth’s climate. Our planet’s climate results from a complex and always changing mixture of processes and events. The basic source of energy is radiation from the Sun.

The incoming radiation interacts with the Earth’s atmosphere and surface, so that changes to either can affect the climate. For example, a dark lava flow absorbs more of the solar energy than a desert soil, so a large enough lava flow could warm a local region.

• But a much larger influence on climate comes from volcanic gases erupted into the atmosphere that spread out and encircle the planet.
• The most abundant gas typically erupted is water vapor, which has been measured to be as high as 97% of gases erupted from some volcanoes.
• The water has very little impact on climate because it usually rains out of the atmosphere fairly quickly.

In fact, it is very common to find volcanic ash deposited that preserve rainfall splash marks. 1991 Eruption of Mount Pinatubo, Philippines The greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) is the second most common gas (varying from 1% to 50% in different types of eruptions). Carbon dioxide is heavier than air and commonly ponds in low-lying areas; it can poison and kill animals that breathe it.

The CO 2 does not significant influence climate because volcanic CO 2 is only about 1% of what is released by burning of fossil fuels. The gas that does have a noticeable climate impact is sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ). Unlike greenhouse gases, SO 2 cools the atmosphere. Magma contains a small amount of SO 2, typically less than 10% by volume.

Large eruptions thrust the SO 2 into the upper atmosphere (the stratosphere) where it is transported around the planet. Contact with abundant water changes the SO 2 gas into sulfuric acid (H 2 SO 4 ) droplets called aerosols. Even though they are microscopic, there are billions of such aerosols following a big eruption, so that they actually affect the climate.

Each aerosol absorbs some of the radiation from the Sun, and thus heats itself and the surrounding stratosphere. But each ray of Sunlight that hits an aerosol does not strike the Earth, robbing the surface of that small amount of heat. During the 1900s there were three large eruptions that caused the entire planet to cool down by as much as 1°C.

Volcanic coolings persist for only 2 to 3 years because the aerosols ultimately fall out of the stratosphere and enter the lower atmosphere where rain and wind quickly disperse them. Although scientists understand the basic mechanism of cooling due to eruptions there are many details still to be investigated.

Not all volcanic eruptions seem to effect climate. What are the characteristics, other than bigness, of those that do?

How can geologists predict which volcanoes are likely to impact the climate when they erupt?

What would be the climate effect if a series of large eruptions occurred over 10 years?

For further information: Volcanic Gases and Climate Change Overview Volcanic Gases and Climate Change Overview (U.S. Geological Survey) http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/hazards/gas/climate.php Volcanic Gases and Their Effects (U.S. Geological Survey) http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/hazards/gas/index.php

Is it safe to live next to a volcano?

Official websites use,gov A,gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. Secure,gov websites use HTTPS A lock ( A locked padlock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the,gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Volcanic eruptions are among Earth’s most dramatic and powerful agents of change.

1. Ash, mudflows, and lava flows can devastate communities near volcanoes and cause havoc in areas far downwind, downstream, and downslope.
2. Even when a volcano is quiet, steep volcanic slopes can collapse to become landslides, and large rocks can be hurled by powerful steam blasts.
3. Hazardous volcanic conditions might last for a day or decades, all the while threatening people’s health and safety.

Scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey and partner agencies assess hazards and closely monitor activity at the Nation’s volcanoes. They provide volcano updates and warnings of hazardous situations, as well as guidance on actions to take. You can prepare your family and community by familiarizing yourself with the types of hazards at volcanoes near where you live and visit.

Additional publication details

Publication type	Report
Publication Subtype	USGS Numbered Series
Title	Living with volcano hazards
Series title	Fact Sheet
Series number	2018-3075
DOI	10.3133/fs20183075
Year Published	2019
Language	English
Publisher	U.S. Geological Survey
Publisher location	Reston, VA
Contributing office(s)	Volcano Science Center
Description	Report: 6 p.; Related Work
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Part or all of this report is presented in Portable Document Format (PDF). For best results viewing and printing PDF documents, it is recommended that you download the documents to your computer and open them with Adobe Reader. PDF documents opened from your browser may not display or print as intended.

Why do people live in areas of tectonic activity?

Why live in tectonic areas? Around 500 million (in 2000) people live on or close to volcanoes. By 2025 it is estimated that 600 Million people will be living in tectonically active areas. For example, 961,000 people live in Naples, Italy, despite being at the foot of the dangerous Mount Vesuvius.

1. Popocatapetl (pronounced poh-poh-kah-teh-peh-til) is a volcanic mountain less than 50 miles from Mexico City (one of the largest megacities in the world) in Mexico.
2. Often people live in these zones because they decide that the advantages of the place outweigh the risks.
3. Most volcanoes and earthquake zones are safe for long periods in between eruptions or earthquake events.

Frequently tectonic events can be adjusted to and are considered by the residents as being predictable. Reasons for living close to volcanoes; 1. Some settlements have grown into enormous cities and would be hard to move anywhere else 2. Some places are well prepared for hazards so people feel safe 3.

A good job and way of life may keep you in a danger zone 4. Sulphur can be mined, Ljen volcano has a crater lake, which is the site of a sulphur mining operation, because of the high sulphur levels on the lake floor 5. Volcanic soils are fertile as the weathering of volcanic rock releases potassium into the soil, which is essential for plant growth e.g.

Naples, Italy has olives, vines, nuts and fruit (mainly oranges and lemons) growing area to Mount Vesuvius.6. Tourism is a popular activity in these areas. Mount Etna, attracts thousands of tourists, who travel in cable cars and 4 wheel drives to the crater, providing a range of jobs for local people.

• The Blue Lagoon in Iceland is heated by geothermal heat and 1.2 million people visited the Lagoon in 2010 7.
• Magma contains a large amount of minerals, such as, copper, gold, silver, lead and zinc.
• After an eruption this magma cools and these minerals can be mined.E.g.
• Yanacocha gold mine in Peru 8.
• Large settlements in seismic zones offer job opportunities, such as San Francisco in the USA.

San Francisco is in the Bay area, which has a GDP of $535 billion, & ranks 19th in the world when compared to national economies.9. People in Mount Merapi, Indonesia, worship ancient spirits believing they will warn them of an eruption, on a full moon they throw items into the volcano crater to calm the volcano’s spirits.10.

• The World’s best coffee is grown on volcanic soil in Columbia.11.
• People believe the chances of the volcano erupting are very slim 12.
• In Iceland volcanoes provide cheap geothermal power, 28 % of all its energy.
• This is even used to heat pavements in winter in Reykjavik.13.
• Poor people, especially in LICs cannot afford to live away from volcanoes as they provide jobs and their families and friends live there.14.

Basalt is found in volcanic areas and can be used in construction and to build roads.15. Engineering can make people feel safe in these areas in richer parts of the world. Buildings can be made to be earthquake proof like the Bird’s Nest stadium in Beijing.16.

Do people still live around Mount Vesuvius?

Vesuvius, also called Mount Vesuvius or Italian Vesuvio, active volcano that rises above the Bay of Naples on the plain of Campania in southern Italy, Its western base rests almost upon the bay, The height of the cone in 2013 was 4,203 feet (1,281 metres), but it varies considerably after each major eruption.

• At about 1,968 feet (about 600 metres), a high semicircular ridge, called Mount Somma, begins, girding the cone on the north and rising to 3,714 feet (1,132 metres).
• Between Mount Somma and the cone is the Valle del Gigante (Giant’s Valley).
• At the summit of the cone is a large crater about 1,000 feet (about 305 metres) deep and 2,000 feet (about 610 metres) across; it was formed in the eruption of 1944.

More than two million people live in the vicinity of Vesuvius and on its lower slopes. There are industrial towns along the coast of the Bay of Naples and small agricultural centres on the northern slopes. Vesuvius probably originated somewhat less than 200,000 years ago.

1. Although a relatively young volcano, Vesuvius had been dormant for centuries before the great eruption of 79 ce that buried the cities of Pompeii, Oplontis, and Stabiae under ashes and lapilli and the city of Herculaneum under a mudflow,
2. The writer Pliny the Younger, who was staying at a place west of Naples, gave an excellent account of the catastrophe in two letters to the historian Tacitus,

Between the years 79 and 1037, several eruptions were reported, which include those occurring in 203, 472, 512, 685, 787, 968, 991, 999, and 1007. The explosions of 512 were so severe that Theodoric the Goth released the people living on the slopes of Vesuvius from payment of taxes. Britannica Quiz Volcanoes Quiz After some centuries of quiescence, a series of earthquakes, lasting six months and gradually increasing in violence, preceded a major eruption that took place on December 16, 1631. Many villages on the slopes of the volcano were destroyed, about 3,000 people were killed, the lava flow reached the sea, and the skies were darkened for days.

After 1631 there was a change in the eruptive character of the volcano, and activity became continuous. Two stages could be observed: quiescent and eruptive. During the quiescent stage the volcano’s mouth would be obstructed, whereas in the eruptive stage it would be almost continuously open. Between 1660 and 1944 several of these cycles were observed.

Severe paroxysmal (suddenly recurring) eruptions, concluding an eruptive stage, occurred in 1660, 1682, 1694, 1698, 1707, 1737, 1760, 1767, 1779, 1794, 1822, 1834, 1839, 1850, 1855, 1861, 1868, 1872, 1906, 1929, and 1944. The eruptive stages varied in length from 6 months to 30 3 / 4 years.

• The quiescent stages varied from 18 months to 7 1 / 2 years.
• Scientific study of the volcano did not begin until late in the 18th century.
• An observatory was opened in 1845 at 1,995 feet (608 metres), and in the 20th century numerous stations were set up at various heights for making volcanologic measurements.

A large laboratory and a deep tunnel for seismo-gravimetric measurements were also built. The slopes of Vesuvius are covered with vineyards and orchards, and the wine grown there is known as Lacrima Christi (Latin for “tears of Christ”); in ancient Pompeii the wine jars were frequently marked with the name Vesuvinum.

• Higher up, the mountain is covered with copses of oak and chestnut, and on the northern side along the slopes of Mount Somma the woods proceed to the very summit.
• On the western side the chestnut groves give way above 2,000 feet to undulating plateaus covered with broom, where the crater left by the great eruption of the year 79 ce has been filled in.

Still higher, on the slopes of the great cone and on the inner slope of Mount Somma, the surface is almost barren; during quiescent periods it is covered by tufts of meadow plants. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Subscribe Now The soil is very fertile, and in the long period of inactivity before the eruption of 1631 there were forests in the crater and three lakes from which pasturing herds drank.

1. Vegetation on the slope dies off during eruptive periods because of the volcanic gases.
2. After the eruption of 1906, forests were planted on the slopes in order to protect inhabited places from the flows of mud that usually occur after violent eruptions, and in the fertile soil the trees grew rapidly.

In 73 bce the gladiator Spartacus was besieged by the praetor Gaius Claudius Glaber on the barren summit of Mount Somma, which was then a wide, flat depression walled by rugged rocks festooned with wild vines, He escaped by twisting ropes of vine branches and descending through unguarded fissures in the rim.

Why did the people of Pompeii live near a volcano?

Answer and Explanation: The settlers of Pompeii valued the agricultural fertility of the region. The deposits from volcanoes are rich in minerals that make agriculture more productive as opposed to traditional soil.

What does it mean if you live in the red zone around Mt Vesuvius?

Red zones are the areas with maximum pyroclastic flow hazard, which have to be completely evacuated within 72 hours from the declaration of ‘Red alert’.

How many people live near Mount Vesuvius still today?

Mount Vesuvius, located 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) southeast of Naples, Italy, is one of the few active volcanoes on Europe’s mainland. It is part of the Campanian Volcanic Arc which includes the Campi Flegrei caldera/geothermal field to the west of Naples near Agnano and Mount Etna in Sicily.

• Vesuvius is a composite stratovolcano, made up of pyroclastic flows, lava flows, and debris from lahars that accumulated to form the volcanic cone.
• In this natural-color image, acquired on January 2, 2022, by the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8, the cone of Mount Vesuvius appears through a break in the clouds.

The ridge surrounding the cone is a remnant of the collapsed caldera of an older volcano, Mount Somma, from which the cone of Vesuvius emerged. Naples has a population of 3 million people, 800,000 of whom live on the volcano’s slopes. This makes Vesuvius one of the most dangerous volcanoes on the planet.

Its most famous eruption, in A.D.79, destroyed the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum, The cities were engulfed in pyroclastic flows—superheated, high-density clouds of volcanic gas, ash, and rock that flow downslope at hundreds of kilometers per hour. Pliny the Younger’s eyewitness account of that eruption, including its towering ash cloud, led volcanologists to term these types of eruptions “Vesuvian” or “Plinian.” Such catastrophes are why the area became home to the world’s first volcanological observatory, built in the 19th century.

Today, Vesuvius remains one of the most heavily monitored and studied volcanoes in the world. By dating lavas, scientists know that the mountain has had eight major eruptions in the past 17,000 years. The most recent, on March 17, 1944, destroyed the village of San Sebastiano, Italy.