Ring of Fire - Natural Disasters Quiz

Answer: The ash plume of the volcano spewed for only about an hour.

The ash plume actually spewed for more than 9 hours and reached heights of 12-16 miles (20-27 km) above sea level. Some of the ash traveled as far as Alberta, Canada by the next day and eventually spread through eleven US states. The north side of the mountain collapsed and reduced its height by over 1,300 feet (400 m) and caused a huge breach on that northern side. This collapse caused mudflows called lahars (mixture of the mountain material, snow, ice and water) whose powerful flow destroyed bridges, trees, and camps and carried the material south to the Columbia River. It became the largest known debris avalanche in recorded history and its devastation spread over 230 miles, flattening much in its path. As recently as 2008, steam was seen escaping from the lava dome, but it was deemed to have a low likelihood of erupting. Mt St Helens' neighbors in the Cascades include Mt. Hood, Mt. Rainier and Mt. Adams among many others.

This question was provided by TAKROM.

Answer: 26 December (Boxing Day)

In this tragedy of immense proportions, in excess of 230,000 people lost their lives in several countries, including Indonesia, Thailand, the Maldives, and Sri Lanka. Most died as the result of tsunami activity. A similar event occurred in Simeulue in the early 20th century which passed into their oral history. It was suggested that because the tragic events of the earlier tsunami were so well known, the inhabitants took to the hills and the loss of life in that particular area was less than might have been expected.

This question was provided by VegemiteKid.

Answer: Photography and motion pictures of the devastation.

FEMA did not come into existence until 1978. Airplanes were in their infancy at this point in time and had no capacity for a major airlift. There is no record of a tsunami hitting San Francisco as a result of this earthquake. The San Francisco earthquake was the first earthquake in which photography and motion pictures documented the devastation. Although aerial photos of the devastation exist, they were not taken by airplane but rather by kite. The earthquake caused great destruction but it was the fires that broke out afterwards that caused most of the damage. In the end, 80% of the city was destroyed. The photographic and motion picture evidence along with the 1908 Lawson Report have been critical in the early understanding of earthquakes in regards to their causes and effects.

The earthquake happened along the 810 mile-long San Andreas Fault and caused a rupture 296 miles long. The exact magnitude of the quake is unknown but it is estimated to have been between 7.7 and 8.25. The San Andreas Fault is a transform fault and helps form the boundary on the Ring of Fire between the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate.

Another major earthquake that occurred in the San Francisco area was the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake and is notable because it was televised on live TV as it occurred. In a sense the photography of the 1906 earthquake had graduated to live TV in the 1989 earthquake. The Loma Prieta earthquake disrupted the 1989 World Series between the Oakland A's and the San Francisco Giants. About 30 minutes before the third game of the series was set to start the earthquake hit and was therefore carried live on the air. The game was postponed until October 27. The earthquake was a magnitude 6.9 and caused significant damage throughout the bay area.

This question was provided by tazman6619.

Answer: Mount Tambora

Mount Tambora is located on the island of Sumbawa to the east of Java. The 1815 eruption was the largest known eruption in over a thousand years and occurred during a time when solar activity was unusually low. Volcanic ash and sulphuric acid from the eruption reduced global temperatures, causing crops to fail and livestock to die the following year in the Northern Hemisphere.

The famous eruption of Mount Krakatoa occurred in 1883 and also affected global weather patterns for several years after the event.

Mount Merapi is Indonesia's most active volcano and has been listed as one of the Decade Volcanoes, a group of 16 volcanoes worldwide singled out for their catastrophic eruptions with populated areas in the vicinity.

Mount Kelud is located on the island of Java. In 2007, lava from an eruption occupied its crater lake, thus removing the crater lake from existence.

This question was provided by purelyqing.

Answer: Chile

Also known as the "Great Chilean Earthquake" it has been described as a megathrust caused by the Nazca Plate subducting under the North American Plate and measuring 9.5 in moment magnitude. This is much greater than the earthquake that measured 8.5 moment magnitude and smashed the same city in 1575. The Valdivia quake (22 May, 1960) occurred in the midst of a series of extremely powerful earthquakes that commenced with the Concepcion quake on May 21 and ran through to June 6. Chile's coastline was battered by a series of tsunamis as tall as eighty feet which then raced across the Pacific Ocean to devastate Hilo in Hawaii. The effects of the quake were felt as far afield as the Aleutian Islands in Alaska through to Japan, the Philippines and the east coast of New Zealand.

This question was provided by pollucci19.

Answer: Mudslide

The Valley of Geysers is in the Kronotsky Nature Reserve, which is one of six sites that make up the UNESCO World Heritage list containing the "Volcanoes of Kamchatka". In 2007, a huge mudslide estimated to be a mile long occurred and filled in two-thirds of the valley, destroying most of the geysers and springs that made up the valley. The mudslide was most likely caused by an earthquake but the exact cause is unknown. No one was killed during the mudslide due to the remoteness of the area. The Kamchatka Peninsula is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire and contains between 160 to 300 volcanoes with 29 of them still active.

This question was provided by zonko.

Answer: Mount Pinatubo

The eruption of Mt. Pinatubo was successfully predicted resulting in the evacuation of tens of thousands thus saving many lives. However, areas surrounding the mountain were severely damaged by pyroclastic flows and lahars.

Mayon Volcano is considered the most active volcano in the Philippines and still sees lava flows destroying lowlands beneath it. Taal Volcano has been quiet since 1977, but as recently as 1991 there has been seismic activity there. It has 33 recorded eruptions since 1572. Canalon erupted without warning in 1996 killing three of a group of mountain climbers who were trapped near the summit. It has recorded 25 eruptions since 1866.

This question was provided by TAKROM.

Answer: Papua New Guinea

The river system in East Sepik Province is fed by rainforests in the New Guinea Highlands (also known as the Central Cordillera). Its location on the Ring of Fire exacerbates the effects of the normal flooding patterns of the Sepik.

Another contributing factor to the flooding is that the mountains are high enough to attract snow, which occurs even though the island of New Guinea is so close to the equator. The Highlands, formed as a result of tectonic activity, are affected on the north side by the Sorong Fault zone, which is in turn impacted by the movement of the Pacific plate. These movements precipitate the volcanic activity that causes regular eruptions in the area.

This question was provided by VegemiteKid.

Answer: true

There is no hard and fast rule as far as earthquake classification goes; terms are usually more descriptive than a scientific categorization. This earthquake, for example, can be classified both as a submarine or underwater earthquake as well as a megathrust earthquake.

Although earthquakes themselves do not have a set criteria for categorization, faults do. There are three main types of faults: normal, reverse (thrust), and strike-slip. On a strike-slip fault an earthquake occurs when the two sides of the fault move horizontally against each other. On a normal fault an earthquake occurs when one side drops below the other side. On a reverse or thrust fault an earthquake occurs when one side thrusts up above the other side. In terms of magnitude, the reverse or thrust faults produce the greatest magnitudes including most earthquakes over 8.0. Strike-slip faults usually produce earthquakes up to 8.0 but rarely above that. Normal faults usually produce earthquakes of less than 7.0 magnitude.

The Tohoku earthquake would have been devastating enough on its own because of its magnitude but the resulting tsunami produced waves as high as 133 ft (40 m). This happened because of the relatively shallow water where the earthquake occurred which allowed much of its energy to build up in the water and create more movement. The tsunami affected the whole of the Pacific region with waves reaching from Alaska down to Chile.

Other historic megathrust earthquakes are:
Date/Name/Magnitude
1700 Cascadia earthquake 8.7-9.2
1755 Lisbon earthquake 8.5-9.0
1868 Arica earthquake 8.5-9.0
1960 Valdivia earthquake 9.5
1964 Alaskan earthquake 9.2
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake 9.1-9.3
2010 Chile earthquake 8.8
2011 Tohoku earthquake 9.0

This question was provided by tazman6619.

Answer: Oruanui

The Oruanui eruption created a caldera that is now known as Lake Taupo. Erosion and sedimentation caused by the eruption also changed the course of the Waikato River.

The Hatepe eruption, also of Taupo Volcano, happened circa 180 AD.

The Minoan eruption refers to the eruption on Thera (now known as Santorini), an island in Greece. It occurred around the middle of the second millennium BCE.

The eruption of Mount Vesuvius around 7000 BC is called the Mercato eruption.

This question was provided by purelyqing.