Mayon Volcano

Mayon Volcano

By: Makayla Brown 8th grade

Sources

What is it?

Measurements

Located in Southeastern Luzon, Phillipines, and residing in the city of Legaspi, this active volcano is known for its symmetrical cone shape and its pyroclastic blows. Located near Mayon is Albay Gulf.

Height: rises 8,077 feet above Albay Gulf shores Base: 80 miles in circumference Slope: 35- 40 degrees Crater: small, with 200 meters in diameter

- It is called the worlds most perfect volcano cone- Mayon has erupted more than 50 times in the past 500 years (most active volcano in the Phillipines) - Mayon volcano stands in the middle of Mayon Volcano National Park.

How does it work?

Mayon Volcano sits on a

convergent boundry

The Volcano is in between the Eurasian plate and the oceanic Phillipine plate.

In this case, the type of convergent boundry Mayon is on is called a

Mayon is on both an oceanic plate (more dense) and a continental plate (less dense)

Subduction Zone.

- When they collide, the oceanic Phillipine plate goes under the continental side of the Eurasian plate.

- This is because the continental plate is lighter, and it pushes the oceanic plate down.

Volcanoes on subduction zones tend to have a more explosive eruption and steeper sides!

bubbles

Volcanoes on subduction zones have thicker, more sticky magma, that provide resistance as grow. This can cause the pressure inside of those bubbles to become higher. Because one plate Mayon volcano is on is an oceanic plate, water, from the Pacific ocean in this case, helps to break more bubbles. When bubbles with greater pressure break, they do so with greater force.

Mayon Volcano

What about the lava?

How is lava created?

First, it is

magma

When the oceanic plate subducts, it gets pushed into the mantle.

Water that comes into the Earth from the Pacific ocean brings the melting point of the down. This causes the Philipine plate to melt into magma.

lithoshere

Because magma is so hot, and less dense than solid materials around it, it rises up and through the lithosphere to create lava.

How did Mayon Volcano grow its huge and symmetrical shape?

What about the shape?

Mayon volcano is a Cinder Cone volcano. This type of volcano has...

vent

One central

more trapped gasses in the lava

With more gasses, when the lava explodes, it breakes into smaller parts called tephra. Tephra hardens before touching the ground and builds up around the central vent. This plus eruptions and lava flows formed the symmetric cone of the volcano.

pyroclastic

Although Mayon is lovely, the way it's cone shape was formed along with its dangerous eruptions caused by formation on a subduction zone, it can be deadly.

Next to its symmetry, Mayon is the most active volcano in the Phillipines. Here is some of its eruptions with analyzed stories/ data ordered from the most recent to the less recent supporting its cone shape, the way it was formed, and how active it is.

Two eruptions caused a collapse of the that created falling rocks and small pyroclastic flows. There were no deaths. A lava dome collapse is caused during an eruption when thick, sticky magma (like the kind formed in subduction zones) gathers near the vent. Gas pressure builds up in the lava dome and in this case, it collapsed to form pyroclastic flows. Most likely, because Mayon is on a subduction zone, a lava dome collapse occured.

lava dome

2018-Jan 15-

Pyroclastic flows killed 79 people that were mostly farmers, and forced 50,000 people to evacuate. Pyroclastic flows are very speedy and can be made from hot gas, ash, and lava. If more people wouldn't have evacuated on time, more people would have died because of the speed and danger of the flow.

1993- Feb 2

Mayon's longest interrupted eruption; it rained fire for seven days. The village of Bacacay was buried 49 ft below lava. In Santo Domingo, 100 people were killed due to steam and falling hot rocks. In other villages, ash was carried in dark clouds which killed more than 400 people. Mayon's cone shape formed by tephra and flows of lava/ pyroclastic flows had a role in throwing hot rocks and debris high into the air which eventually fell down.

1897- Jun 23-

1,200 people were killed in the most deadly eruption recorded from Mayon. The town of Cagsawa was buried in debris from stone, sand, and ash that the volcano shot up into the air. The cone shape of Mayon that faces the sky spewed lava high into the air, causing for a more deadly eruption. Plus, because volcanoes on subduction zones tend to erupt more explosively, Mayon had an explosive eruption that day that could have caused for more deaths.

1814- 8am Feb 1-