Free Republic

Since Merapi is in the news, here's a few more pictures. The Washington Post had an amazing shot of the pyroclastic flows that came down the mountain yesterday, but I can't link to it. If you want to see it, go to the Washington Post home page, search on "Merapi", and look for the photo entitled "Mount Merapi Erupts with Clouds of Gas : May 15: Smoke billows from Mount Merapi volcano in Central Java, Indonesia". The photo below (which is from Shanghai Daily, so I'm not sure if it will always show up) is similar: The image below is...

Because Mount Merapi in Indonesia is threatening to blow, and because "nuee ardentes" or pyroclastic flows are the major concern, I thought a few pictures of hot flaming clouds of gas would be appropriate. The first is from a previous eruption of Merapi: Source page: http://www.univ-orleans.fr/sciences/GEOLOGIE/res_ped/volcano/pelee2002/french/1902_nuees2/soufriere.htm The next is one coming down the side of Mount St. Helens in August 1980, three months after the big blast in May. Page source: http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/MSH/Images/pyroclastic_flows.html And third, a nice shot of a flow and incandescent rockfall on Montserrat from Stromboli On-Line: Page source: http://www.swisseduc.ch/stromboli/perm/montserrat/flows-en.html