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Longtime VW friend Dr. Rosaly Lopes is about to release (on May 2nd, 2008) her latest volcano book, "Alien Volcanoes." Co-Authored with artist and writer Michael Carroll, Alien Volcanoes promises to be a fascinating tour through our solar systems greatest volcanoes.

The Amazon.Com book description is:

At once terrifyingly destructive and awe-inspiringly beautiful, volcanoes have long fascinated humankind. From Vesuvius and Etna to Krakatau and Mount Saint Helen's, these molten rock- and ash-spewing geysers have destroyed whole cities and countless lives, and altered the course of history. Yet our understanding of volcanoes on Earth -- and throughout the celestial world -- remains maddeningly incomplete. With Alien Volcanoes, Rosaly M. C. Lopes and Michael W. Carroll offer a dynamic tour of volcanic activity across the solar system. Through eight gracefully written chapters laced with gripping photographs and stunning artwork, Lopes and Carroll survey the complete spectrum of volcanism in time and location, from the solar system's origin to the modern era and from the familiar shield volcanoes of the terrestrial worlds to the bizarre superchilled geysers on distant ice moons. In the process, they entertain the possibility of hidden lakes on Saturn's moon Enceladus, discuss the potential effects of greenhouse gases on Neptune's moon Triton, reconstruct the last moments of life for Pompeiians in the face of an erupting Mount Vesuvius, and explain how a 4,000-mile-long river of lava could have once flowed freely across the plains of Venus. Richly illustrated with original paintings supplemented by NASA and European Space Agency photographs, Alien Volcanoes advances our knowledge of volcanoes on other heavenly bodies, enhances our ability to comprehend how they came into being on Earth, and describes how we might better predict the impact of future eruptions.

If you preorder the book from Amazon,
you can save 39% off the cover price!!

Click here for more information and to get your copy today!

Volcano Village Astronomer and International Volcano Photographer, Stephen James O'Meara, snapped what may very well be some of the first photographs of red lava spattering from the brand new Kilauea Caldera Vent. Thanks for sharing with us!! For more images or information please contact Steve or Donna O'Meara

The Pu`u `O`o-Kupaianaha eruption of Kilauea, now in its twenty-fourth year and 55th eruptive episode, ranks as the most voluminous outpouring of lava on the volcano's east rift zone in the past five centuries. By January 2007, 3.1 cubic km of lava had covered 117 km2 and added 201 hectares to Kilauea's southern shore. In the process, lava flows destroyed 189 structures and resurfaced 14 km of highway with as much as 35 m of lava. Source: Cascades Volcano Observatory

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Chaiten, Chile


Image Source: La Tercera

A Giant Awakens

The 1.200-meter high snowcapped Chaiten volcano in the Los Lagos Region, (lakes region) close to Puerto Montt and 1.200 kilometers south of Santiago started rumbling Thursday May 1st. The Chaiten volcano has spewed lava and blasted ash 12 miles (20 kilometers) into the sky, prompting officials to order a total evacuation of the nearby area driving more than 7,000 people from their homes. Armed with a court order for people to leave an area within a 30-mile (50-kilometer) radius of the mountain, authorities forcibly removed about 130 holdouts, mostly small farmers, who had refused to abandon their livestock - many of whom were beginning to die from breathing air and drinking water clogged with volcanic ash. The enormous slow-moving ash plume was expected to reach the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires (where about eight million people live), spreading airborne ash particles which, health officials said, could be highly dangerous to inhale.

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Saint Helens, Washington, USA


(Image Credit: Dr. Shan de Silva)

Man survives fall into volcano crater!

In what can only be described as a miracle, a man not only fell 1,500-2,000 feet into the crater of Mount St. Helens, he survived, and was almost unscathed. "It was all luck," he says. Experienced snowmobiler John Slemp, 52, of Damascus, Ore., became the first person ever to fall into the crater formed when the volcano erupted in 1980.

John landed on a snow bank, but when he tried to climb back up, shelf of snow fell apart beneath him again and he went down another 1,500 feet or so. At First, all rescuers saw in the snow was an avalanche and a tiny dot. But, when they reached John and pulled him to safety, they were amazed. "He had a hyper-extended left leg," said Jeffrey Linscott, a helicopter pilot for J.L. Aviation, "and some cuts and bruises -- pretty remarkable, for his fall."

Recently, VW resident volcanologist Dr. Shan de Silva also travelled to MSH, taking some exclusive high-res close-up photographs inside and around the crater!

Click here to see his photographs!

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High Resolution Satellite Images

Space Imaging has kindly provided Volcano World with some excellent IKONOS satellite images of Earth's volcanoes. We are grateful for their contribution and support.

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