Mystery Volcano Photo
eklemetti | August 9, 2010Quiet weekend on the whole, volcano-wise, beyond the articles about the latest eruption at Karangetang. So, we'll start this week with a new Mystery Volcano Photo. The last MVP was Tarawera in a shot I took from a road on the back side of the volcano, so that leaves the current standings looking like this:
Standings
Boris Behncke - 4
Don Crain - 4
The Bobs - 3
gijs - 2
volcanista - 1
Lockwood - 1
Elizabeth - 1
Ralph - 1
Anne - 1
Cam - 1
gg - 1
Damon Hynes - 1
Marco - 1
Doug C. - 1
Diane - 1
Stephen - 1
MK, Alberta - 1
Kultsi - 1
Henrik - 1
Zane - 1
Now, here is the new one. Good luck!
Click…
eklemetti | July 26, 2010When we last left MVP, the latest entry actually did give people some trouble - but Don Crain ended up landing the winner at guess #15. The volcano is Ollagüe along the Chilean/Bolivian border. I took this shot from the road that comes up from the south towards Ollagüe (the town). Now, I have been to Ollagüe (the town) in almost 10 years now, but I did stay in a "hotel" called the Hotel Brin Bran - good soup, surly owner, nice view of both Ollagüe (the volcano) and Aucanquilcha. Definitely the vacation spot if you're visiting the high Andean Chilean/Bolivian frontier.
So, our standings:…
eklemetti | July 20, 2010OK, first off an apology for this week: I will be kind of crazy busy while in Davis - two papers to churn through so we can get them submitted sometime this summer, so blogging may be minimal. So, remember, whenever you hear people talk about how professors have it easy because they get the summer "off" ...
Second off, another apology: Dr. Ed Kohut went to Boston College, not Boston University. You would have thought I could keep that straight, but alas, I confuse my Eagles with my Terriers.
Mea culpa to all!
Anyway, I have to send out a hearty congratulations to Boris Behncke destroying my…
eklemetti | July 14, 2010MVP 23 revealed ... and 24 introduced!
Mystery Volcano Photo #23 was, in fact, Middle Sister volcano in Oregon, part of the picturesque Three Sisters near Bend. Middle Sister is a partially eroded (by glaciers) composite volcano with a mix basaltic andesite to andesite lava flows and tephra deposits. Depending on who you speak with, Middle Sister gets lumped in with North Sister (as Middle Sister build up on the flanks of its slightly older sibling) or stands on its own as a part of the Three Sisters. However, before thinking Middle Sister is dormant, remember, the last eruption might have…
eklemetti | July 6, 2010We'll try again with a finding a good Mystery Volcano Photo!
The last MVP was Mt. Meru in Tanzania, submitted by Michael Dalton-Smith. Now, I thought this image was going to be a little harder than it turned out to be as the shot of Meru on Wikipedia is a very similar shot, but that happens sometimes - and it did take 9 guesses this time! Congrats to MK in Alberta for getting that MVP. As for Meru, the last known eruption from this African volcano was in 1910, a VEI 2 explosive event from the aptly named "Ash Cone". Meru appears to have been relatively active during the late 1800's and early…
eklemetti | July 2, 2010Maybe I should be pleased that in the last Mystery Volcano Photo took a whole five guesses rather than one or two, so I count it as success! The correct guess was made by Dr. Boris Behncke, so that elevates him into a tie for first.
Current Standings:
The Bobs - 3
Don Crain - 3
Boris Behncke - 3
gijs - 2
volcanista - 1
Lockwood - 1
Elizabeth - 1
Ralph - 1
Anne - 1
Cam - 1
gg - 1
Damon Hynes - 1
Marco - 1
Doug C. - 1
Diane - 1
Stephen - 1
The 21st MVP was submitted by Eruptions reader David Tucker, who snapped it while flying over the Kamchatka Peninsula on his way to Japan. The volcano in…
eklemetti | June 28, 2010After last week's attempt to revive Mystery Volcano Photo - and the discovery (by me, thanks to you readers) of Tin Eye - I've had to ponder how to continue. Well, I think the best thing to do is to try using reader images that hopefully aren't hiding out on the web somewhere. So, that is what we'll try ...
As for MVP #20, the answer was, indeed, Edziza in Canada (congrats to Stephen). Edziza is an eroded composite stratovolcano that last erupted ~950 AD (+/- 1,000 years ... !) The volcano has erupted basalts to more felsic magmas, many of which were subglacial eruptions.
The current…
eklemetti | June 25, 2010It has been a quiet week, volcanically-speaking that is. Maybe they're all watching the World Cup, but there hasn't been a lot of new and exciting news to report this week. So, I thought this might be a good time to bring back Mystery Volcano Photo! Now, for those of you just joining us, I post a volcano photo and you have to identify it. The first person to get it right scores a point. We haven't done an MVP in a while (mostly because you all are too good at it), so to refresh our memories, the current standings:
The Bobs - 3
Don Crain - 3
gijs - 2
Boris Behncke - 2
volcanista - 1
Lockwood…
eklemetti | March 24, 2010I'm still playing catch-up after my week in the desert, so I've seen a lot of articles I've wanted to mention ... but a certain other volcano has taken up a lot of my time. However, I will attempt to make amends for that now.
By the way, would you believe Ubehebe Crater was closed? How do they close a volcano, anyway? However, I did get a great snap of a welded tuff on the road outside of Shoshone, CA.
A strongly welded tuff near Shoshone, CA. The dark interior is remelted volcanic ash/tephra surrounded by less welded pink tuff with abundant pumice clasts. Denison student David Sisak is on…
eklemetti | March 16, 2010It has been a while since I've posted a Mystery Volcano Photo, but here is a new one. Just a refresher on the current standings:
The Bobs - 3
Don Crain - 3
gijs - 2
Boris Behncke - 2
volcanista - 1
Lockwood - 1
Elizabeth - 1
Ralph - 1
Anne - 1
Cam - 1
gg - 1
Damon Hynes - 1
Marco - 1
Doug C. - 1
Diane - 1
So, here is the new one ... take your best guess (but I'm sure someone will get it much faster than I would imagine) ... Good luck!
eklemetti | December 28, 2009I'm back from my Christmas Eruptions break ... time to play a little catch up!
Popocatepetl in Mexico.
Thanks to everyone for voting/commenting for the Volcanic Event of the Year - The Pliny. It sounds like I have my work cut out for me in determining the winner, but there is still time to vote! Leave your choice for the the Pliny here or email me at
. Look for my year-end review of volcanic events coming in the next few days.
As for the Christmas Day Mystery Volcano Photo, Eruptions reader Don Crain did get it on the first try - they are, in fact, Popocatepetl and Ixtaccihuatl from the…
eklemetti | December 24, 2009Here is your Christmas Day MVP ... points for identifying both of the volcanoes in the photo and why is this a good Christmas Day shot.
Current MVP Standings:
The Bobs - 3
Don Crain - 2
gijs - 2
Boris Behncke - 2
volcanista - 1
Lockwood - 1
Elizabeth - 1
Ralph - 1
Anne - 1
Cam - 1
gg - 1
Damon Hynes - 1
Marco - 1
Doug C. - 1
Good luck!
eklemetti | December 9, 2009Well, this MVP was a bit trickier than most, thanks to the fact that most scoria/cinder cones look pretty similar and some initial confusion about the photo in the first place. Anyway, lets review!
The photo:
It was identified by the sender as Missouri Bill Hill in Arizona. However, this doesn't seem to be the case.
From Google Earth, Missouri Bill Hill:
After close examination by me and all of you, it seems that the consensus is that it is, in fact, Antelope Hill in Arizona - both near each other in the same volcanic field.
From Google Earth, Antelope Hill:
This leaves me confident that…
eklemetti | December 7, 2009First snow of the season here in Granville. Huzzah!
And another reader-submitted photo for MVP. The last was submitted by VolcanoMan and was of the Ecuadorian volcano Chimborazo - the Bobs got yet another photo!
The current standings:
The Bobs - 3
Don Crain - 2
gijs - 2
Boris Behncke - 2
volcanista - 1
Lockwood - 1
Elizabeth - 1
Ralph - 1
Anne - 1
Cam - 1
gg - 1
Damon Hynes - 1
Marco - 1
Here's the new one. Good luck!
eklemetti | December 3, 2009Thank you to all the Eruptions readers who have submitted photos for the Mystery Volcano Photo column! I'll start using them, well, now, so keep them coming. Remember, you can't guess on your own photo!
Current Standings:
Don Crain - 2
gijs - 2
The Bobs - 2
Boris Behncke - 2
volcanista - 1
Lockwood - 1
Elizabeth - 1
Ralph - 1
Anne - 1
Cam - 1
gg - 1
Damon Hynes - 1
Marco - 1
Here's the next MVP ... Good luck!
eklemetti | December 1, 2009So I was browsing around for a new MVP and I stumbled across the following image:
It is a stunning image, capturing this stratocone filling in what might be an old caldera. The problem is, well, I have no idea what volcano this is and the page I found it on (some random wallpaper site) had no information on the image whatsoever. I'm guessing it might be somewhere in Alaska or Kamchatka ... but not sure at all?
So, now, all you volcano-image experts can use your powers for good. Any idea where this image was taken and what volcano(es) are in it? Ideally, if you can find a corroborating image…
eklemetti | November 25, 2009Happy Thanksgiving (for my US readers) ... otherwise happy Thursday to the rest of the world. I've got another Mystery Volcano Photo for you all. Good luck!
Current Standings:
Don Crain - 2
gijs - 2
The Bobs - 2
volcanista - 1
Lockwood - 1
Elizabeth - 1
Ralph - 1
Anne - 1
Cam - 1
gg - 1
Boris Behncke - 1
Damon Hynes - 1
eklemetti | November 18, 2009It has been a slow week for volcano news (and a busy week for me), so I apologize for the abundance of MVPs this week. I've tried to find a good one in the many images submitted to me by Eruptions readers, and #15 is just one of those photos. If you have images you'd like to share with me for MVP or other uses, please email them to me at
. (However, I should note that you can't win by identifying your own volcano photo!)
MVP #13 was Lava Butte near Newberry volcano in Oregon. It is a lovely small scoria cone that you can walk/drive to the summit. From there, you get a spectacular view of the…
eklemetti | November 16, 2009Well, now that Lockwood got #13 on the first try, I will have to reach back into my vault to attempt to find a stumper ...
Current Standings:
Don Crain - 2
gijs - 2
volcanista - 1
Lockwood - 1
Elizabeth - 1
Ralph - 1
Anne - 1
Cam - 1
gg - 1
The Bobs - 1
Boris Behncke - 1
Good luck.
eklemetti | November 16, 2009Busy week leading up to Thanksgiving for me, with a talk to give later in the week and quizzes a plenty!
The Mystery Volcano Photo series has a couple clear frontrunners now, with both Don Crain and Gijs with multiple points.
Current Standings:
Don Crain - 2
gijs - 2
volcanista - 1
Elizabeth - 1
Ralph - 1
Anne - 1
Cam - 1
gg - 1
The Bobs - 1
Boris Behncke - 1
Here's #13 ... good luck!