ADVANTAGES AND

DISADVANTAGES OF VOLCANOES

NEW LAND IS CREATED – LAVA FLOWS ADD EXTRA AREA TO PLACES AND VOLCANIC ISLANDS ARE FORMED – EG. SURTSEY AND HAWAII

MINERALS FROM BENEATH THE SURFACE OF THE EARTH ARE BROUGHT TO THE SURFACE IN THE LAVA AND THESE CAN BE MINED – IRON ORE IN THE AMAZON BASIN

WATER HEATED UNDERGROUND BY COMING IN CONTACT WITH LAVA CAN BE USED TO GENERATE ELECTRICITY - ICELAND

MINERAL AND SPA HOTELS CAN USE HEATED WATER AS HEALTH BENEFITS FOR TOURISTS. EG ICELAND

Tourist attractions – active, dormant and extinct volcanic structures attract tourists.

GIANT’S CAUSEWAY, ANTRIM

MT. ETNA, SICILY

FERTILE SOIL – WHEN LAVA COOLS IT BECOMES BASALT ROCK – THIS WEATHERS TO PRODUCE MINERALS THAT MAKE THE SOIL FERTILE. EG THE ISLAND OF JAVA

WHEN MAGMA COOLS UNDER THE SURFACE GRANITE ROCK IS FORMED. THIS CAN BE USED IN KITCHENS, TROPHIES,

GRAVESTONES, HOUSES ETC.

DISADVANTAGES OF

VOLCANOES

Property is destroyed EG THE

Village of Kalapana in Hawaii.

Landslides formed by heat from lava melting ice on mountaintops – lahars – destroys land, buildings and kills people. Eg Mt St Helens

COMMUNICATION NETWORKS – ROADS, RAILWAYS, AIRPORTS CAN BE BLOCKED AND DESTROYED DURING AN ERUPTION.

Eg THE TOWN OF GOMA IN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO

EG THE ISLAND OF MONSERRAT

PEOPLE KILLED Mt. Tambora, Indonesia April 10 - 15, 1816 Death Toll: 92,000

Mt. Pelee, West Indies April 25 - May 8, 1902 Death Toll: 40,000

Mt. Krakatoa, Indonesia August 26 - 28, 1883 Death Toll: 36,000

Nevado del Ruiz, Columbia November 13, 1985 Death Toll: 23,000

700 Mount Pinatubo

Philippines 1991

245 Nyiragongo Democratic Republic of the Congo

2002

152 Mt Ruapehu, Tangiwai

New Zealand 1953

120 Mount Tarawera

New Zealand 1886

57 Mount St. Helens

United States 1980