Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
tain, sometimes dangerously close to villages. There have been several attempts to deflect
the lava flows by excavating alternative channels, bulldozing up embankments, trying to
stop the flow by hosing it with water or even blasting it. Sometimes homes have been
saved, but sometimes they have not. In 1983 a flow stopped just touching the Sapienza
Hotel in which the geologists stay. Human attempts to tame the volcanic forces still seem
puny compared with the might of the mountain.
Volcanoes and people
Layers of ash and jagged lava flows can break down surprisingly quickly to yield a rich
and fertile soil. People with short memories cluster around the volcano with their farms,
villages, and even cities. It is possible to monitor volcanoes and get at least some warning
when magma is rising within them and an eruption is imminent. But even then, it is some-
times difficult to persuade people to move. Where there is a very large population, such as
around the Bay of Naples below Vesuvius, it may not be practical or possible to evacuate
people in time. Less well-known volcanoes such as many of those in South America have
not even had impact studies performed on them.
Major volcanoes
