And learn I did. Of course,
while relating this story to you, I am caught between the vision of a 9
year old boy, and that of an old, experienced volcanologist. I
don't want to bore you with too much technical mumbo jumbo, but if
you'll bear with me, I'll tell you more about the Paricutin volcano, and
other volcanoes, what they are, and why they happen.
First off, as you may already
know, the Paricutin volcano is considered, along with Krakatau
(Krakatoa) Island, Mount Kilimanjaro, and Mount Everest, to name a few,
to be one of the World's Natural Wonders. Bear in mind that of all
the peaks I have listed here, only the Krakatoa and Paricutin are
volcanoes.
The Paricutin is the most recent
volcano to have formed on the Western Hemisphere, and the Krakatoa
volcano is one of the oldest in recorded history. More than 150
villages, and 30,000 people lost their lives when Krakatoa
underwent its violent eruption around 416 A.D., and while the latter
formed three new Islands, Paricutin turned a cornfield into a mountain,
it's lava flows covering roughly 10 square miles, up until the end of
its activity in February, 1952. About 1000 people died following one of
its last big eruptions in 1949.
