Volcano experience help?

Question

i need to write a piece on a 'volocano experience'

for example ' the ashes poored down, i could hear people screaming blah blah blah.

but i dont know what a volcano eruption is like. can anyone link me to some pages? i looked and i couldnt even find any, or anyone able to start me off with a few lines maybe?

thqanks, ill give 'best answer' to whoever can help me the most, but thanks for anyones help =]

Answer 1

The eruption in Heimaey , Iceland is well documented. The town of Vestmannaejar experienced a mid-winter eruption in the middle of the night. A massive evacuation occurred of the 5000 residents by sea and air and there was no loss of human life due to the initial eruption. The eruption occurred in January 1973. I visited this town seven years after the eruption and it was an amazing experience.

Answer 2

just think of h**l.

Answer 3

Colombia has had some well-documented eruptions and there are descriptions of what the people went through (the survivors) around here:

http://www.geology.sdsu.edu/how_volcanoe...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/america...

http://content.scholastic.com/browse/art...

Read their stories and incorporate them into your's. Should work great and shouldn't take all that long.

Also, you should realize that not all volcanos are particularly deadly. Colima in Mexico erupts pretty much every day. I've been there, and it sounds like a large jet as ash get's spewed a few hundred meters into the air. It's pretty impressive. One thing that amazed me was how short the eruption was - perhaps 10 seconds or so. The eruptions from that mountain are quick and relatively harmless. A bit of ash falls around you, and it is like being in a fog cloud. However, those eruptions are so small that the cloud soon blows away. The picture of me with that eruption are on myspace - I'm tgregoryt there, too.

A picture of Colima will be here:

http://www.ucol.mx/volcan/galeria.php (in Spanish)

They actually have a webcam about five miles from the mountain, and you may be able to catch an eruption as it occurs.

Muana Loa in Hawaii erupts pretty much every day also. These eruptions are rather non-violent and depending upon wind conditions you can get right next to them. You can find information on this one here:

http://www.nps.gov/havo/parkmgmt/world_h...

I also recently saw a bunch of pictures on Yahoo about that volcano in Chile. Pretty impressive. You'll find them here:

http://news.search.yahoo.com/search/news...

Happy writing!

Answer 4

i would reccomend a film called "dantes peak" for an excellent source of highly accurate information on vulcanism. the behavior of volcanos, their predictability, the science and symptoms of a volcano coming to life after laying asleep for centurys. the story is excellent. about a small town under the threat of an erruption, their reactions, investigations, and events  leading to  a desparate evacuation , earthquakes before the mountain blows it's top, deaths and destructive lahars (roiling clouds of superhot volcanic rock particles) flowing down on the town at high speed, burning and destroying everything in it's path, lava flows burning everthing, turning a nearby lake to acid, killing the fish and dissolveing an aluminum boat, and destroying the flesh of someone who got in the water, two kids were boiled alive, when a volcanic vent sent superheated steam into a spring they were swimming in. a mud flow filled with trees debis, slid into a small river, rupturing a dam and sweeping everything away in it's path.. it's really an enjoyable film  and very informative. believe me. you rent this film disk, and you'll enjoy learning about volcanos. really. it'll give you plenty of ideas for your story. and accuracy in your telling. another made for t.v. movie about a super volcano errupting in yellowstone park is also good for ideas and information. for now, just rent a copy of "dantes peak"  i can't reccommend this one enough !!!!