Volcano!
VulcanSpirit
Richard & Alison Brunstrom
Wed 18 Sep 2013 02:35
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We're now at delightful Tanna, nearly the
southernmost island in Vanuatu, where we've come to see Mount Yasur - one of the
most active volcanos in the world. Here it is at a distance as we approach; it
looks an insignificant pimple, but the rising cloud of water
vapour and smoke in the centre of the picture gives it
away:
 Yasur is a 'young' volcano; the cinder cone is only
300m high so it is below the tropical cloud level. It is erupting gently all the
time throwing out a fine cloud of ash which settles downwind forming an ash
plain which is firm enough to drive on - you may just be able to make out
vehicle tracks for scale:
 But it's not quite all ash. Dotted round the plain
are large rocks up to the size of a large beach ball - these are chunks of
ejected magma from the occasional bigger explosion, some of which have travelled
over a kilometer in the air. And that's from when, as now, that Yasur is in a
quiet phase.
As you stand on the plain ash falls on you,
audibly! There is a constant pitter-patter of bits like small grains of sand,
and in the background a loud bang and a rumble every minute or two, with a large
cloud of smoke and huge chunks of lava being thrown into the sky. And that's
just from the plain - tonight we're going up to the crater rim to see the
firework display as night falls. Should be good
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