Kjeragbolten, Norway

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Kjeragbolten is the name of a massive bounder that’s wedged and completely stuck between the walls of two steep cliffs in Kjerag Mountains, Norway. Despite its spectacularly crazy visual appeal, Kjeragbolten is surprisingly easy to walk onto and pose for a photo. No special rock climbing skills are required, you don’t even need any special equipment. Just need a pair of fit legs to get you up on top of Kjerag Mountains and you’re set for a photo opportunity that will leave your relatives and friends in awe.

http://www.vacationideas.me/europe/kjeragbolten-norway/

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THE VOLCANOES OF KAMCHATKA

The 1,250-kilometre long Kamchatka Peninsula is located in the Russian Far East, with an area of about 270,000 square kilometres. It is sandwiched between the Pacific Ocean to the east and the Sea of Okhotsk to the west; offshore along the Pacific coast of the peninsula is the 10,500-metre deep Kuril-Kamchatka Trench with a 2000 km island arc.

Kamchatka has more than 300 volcanoes, 29 of them active and 19 of these active volcanoes being included in the six UNESCO World Heritage List sites in the Volcanoes of Kamchatka group. As well as active volcanoes, Kamchatka has a variety of thermal and mineral springs and geysers.

The highest volcano in the region is Klyuchevskaya Sopka at 4,750 metres; it is also the largest active volcano in the Northern Hemisphere. It has 35 times the average productivity of a land volcano and erupts 60 million tons of basalt a year.

The most reliably active volcano is Karymsky, named after Karyms, an ethnic group in Russia. It is a symmetrical stratovolcano which has a 5-km-wide caldera; most of the cone formed within the last 200 years. Past eruptions have been vulcanian or vulcanian-strombolian; at times there has also been explosive activity and lava flows. It has been erupting continuously since New Year’s Eve 1996, when a massive eruption exploded from the lake floor, creating tsunami waves over 9 metres high. The lake became one of the world’s largest acid water lakes due to the release of toxic gases during this eruption; all life in the lake aside from algae and bacteria was destroyed in minutes. The lake is still uninhabitable today; though the ash and mud from the eruptions have been feeding the soil and thus starting to re-establish plant life.

There is a region of Kamchatka called the Valley of Death, where a number of vents release toxic odourless gas. Depending on the direction of the wind, the Valley can fill with this gas and suffocate any animals and humans present.

Not all life is averse to volcanism however; extremophile micro-organisms, that are capable of surviving in extremely hot environments, have been found in these volcanic features.

Local legends of the native peoples of Kamchatka tell of the mountains’ peaks being inhabited by gomuls (mountain spirits). The lights of the volcanoes were believed to be from the gomuls roasting whales that they had hunted from the sky.

http://www.pbs.org/edens/kamchatka/ring.html

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White Island

Surely this is a set from Star Trek the original series, and Captain James T. Kirk is just about to fight or seduce an alien? Nope, this is a real place. This is White Island, an uninhabited island about 2 km in diameter and 48 km from the coast of the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand. It marks the northern end of the Taupo Volcanic Zone.

70% of the island lies underwater, but above water the highest point reaches 321m. It is a stratovolcano (a tall, conical volcano) and is made of andesite lava flows and pyroclastic deposits. It has been active for at least 150 000 years and has had continual small eruptions, including lava bombs and blocks thrown into the sea.

Fumaroles are visible in this photo, which form when groundwater beneath the crater floor mixes with gases dissolved in the magma. Anyone visiting the island must wear gas masks as the acidic cloud caused by the fumaroles can sting the eyes and skin and damage equipment and clothes.

Gases dissolved in the magma escape and rise towards the surface where they mix with, and heat the groundwater beneath the crater floor. This produces fumaroles, and the white steam/gas cloud which is usually present above White Island. This acidic cloud can sting the eyes and skin, affect breathing and damage equipment and clothes.

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gns.cri.nz%2FHome%2FLearning%2FScience-Topics%2FVolcanoes%2FNew-Zealand-Volcanoes%2FWhite-Island&h=MAQHVChjf