Wild Whakaari
It was a warm and beautiful December morning. The South Pacific’s waves reflected the vibrant blue sky and lapped steadily at the sides of the tour boats. The boats, operated by a handful of tour companies, skimmed across the Bay of Plenty on New Zealand’s north shore. 30 miles (48 km) offshore sat the steaming, rumbling stratovolcano known as Whakaari.
The tours to the volcano were on time, the boats fueled, snacks provided. People packed onto the boats for their expedition to the active volcano. The visitors’ shoes crunched against the gray ash and tephra as they hiked through the volcano’s water-filled crater. Steam curled up from steep crater walls streaked white and yellow from sulfur. Hot gas roared from fumaroles like a jet engine. As the tourists began to board their boats to head back to shore, they had no idea how many lives were about to be changed. Whakaari was about to show the world just how wild she really is.
Top 10 Volcanic Eruptions of 2019
2019 was a dynamic year in many aspects, and the volcanic world did not disappoint. According to the Global Volcanism Program, “There were 73 confirmed eruptions at some point during 2019 from 70 different volcanoes; 30 of those were new eruptions that started during the year.”[1] The earth is always alive with volcanic activity, and an average of 10-20 volcanoes are active and erupting at any given time on our planet. But who were the show stoppers for 2019?