Recently, around 13,000 people have been evacuated from the northeast Philippines as the country’s most famous volcano, Mayon, continued to ooze lava.
About Mayon Volcano:
- It is an active volcano in southeastern Luzon, Philippines.
- Its name is derived from the local word for beautiful lady, daragang Mayon.
- It is called the world’s most perfect volcanic cone because of the symmetry of its shape.
- It lies in the Pacific Ring of Fire region, a major area in the basin of the Pacific Ocean where a large number of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur.
Key facts about the Pacific Ring of Fire:
- It also known as the Circum-Pacific Beltis a path along the Pacific Ocean characterized by active volcanoes and frequent earthquakes.
- Its length is approximately 40,000 kilometres.
- It traces boundaries between several tectonic plates—including the Pacific, Juan de Fuca, Cocos, Indian-Australian, Nazca, North American, and Philippine Plates.
What is a volcano?
- It is an opening on the surface of a planet that allows material warmer than its surroundings to escape from its interior.
- When this material escapes, it causes an eruption which can be explosive in nature