Most normal people running screaming from disasters, but a few hardy souls go where angels fear to tread. One of nature’s grandest shows are volcanic eruptions, and surprisingly, you can get fairly close to a few and not spontaneously combust. Predicting when one will erupt is an inexact science, but here is a handful of good bets for those who take “flaming queen” seriously:
Kilauea, Hawai’i
Science says a plume of magma from deep within the earth is punching a hole in the Pacific sea floor to create the Hawaiian Islands. Native myth says that each Hawaiian island is in fact a former fire pit of the flame-goddess Pele, who finally settled in the crater of Halema’uma’u in the caldera of Kilauea on the big island of Hawai’i. Either is an impressive story, and for volcano-watchers, Kilauea is the best on Earth. Erupting nonstop in a sort of oozing slo-mo since 1983, this volcano makes Hawai’i is the fastest “growing” of the Union, having added 543 acres to the state.
Bárðarbunga, Iceland
Alternatively, this one is quite the showstopper since it is under a glacier. Hot lava meets cold ice and BOOM — big ol’ steam blast. Pronounced “Partharbungka,” this Icelandic entry has been going strong since August. Go now, as the winter darkness descends, and you will see just how the country got the epithet “The Land of Ice and Fire.” Impress the natives by showing reverence for Surtr, the god of fire and destroyer of worlds.
Mt. Nyiragongo, Republic of the Congo
Africa is coming undone. The African Plate and Indian Ocean-facing Somali Plate are splitting from each other, creating some bizarre geography. One of them is Mt. Nyiragongo, in whose caldera is lava lake that never “freezes” over (rock is, after all, frozen lava). One of only six such lakes on the planet, it looks exactly like you would think. Only hotter…and definitely “no swimming.”
Stromboli, Italy
Continuously blowing its load for the last 2000 years (jealous much?), this volcano and corresponding island just north of Sicily is so famous for its eruptions it is dubbed “the Lighthouse of the Mediterranean.” JRR Tolkien was so impressed with stark, charred Stromboli that it became the basis for Mt. Doom and all of Mordor.
Mt. Shishaldin, Alaska
This Aleutian Island volcano is probably the hardest to reach of this list, but it just went off in late October and once a volcano gets going, they rarely stop right away. But there is another reason to visit, and that is the perfection of the volcano’s shape. It is nearly symmetrical on all sides, looking like pyramid with a gently curving slope.
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