On This Day: 18 July

On this day in 1995, the Soufrière Hills volcano erupted on Montserrat causing widespread devastation. Here are five other major volcanic eruptions in history:

5.
Mt. Pinatubo 1991
This volcano in the Philippines belched out 5 cubic kilometres (1 cubic mile) of ash into the air containing deadly sulphur dioxide. The blast was so big that global temperatures rose by 0.5 Celsius (1 Fahrenheit).
18 July 1995, destructive volcanic eruptions, Soufriere Hills, Montserrat, lava, magma, eruption, dormant, active, extinct, tectonic plates

4.
Vesuvius 79 C.E.
A well known story, but still one of the most devestating eruptions ever known. Pompeii was a populous city in the Roman Empire and up to 25,000 people perished and are now preserved for ever in the pyroclastic flow.
8 July 1995, destructive volcanic eruptions, Soufriere Hills, Montserrat, lava, magma, eruption, dormant, active, extinct, tectonic plates

3.
Mt St. Helens, 1980
The deadliest eruption in U.S. history, St. Helens took then lives of 57 people and had a 24km (15 mile) ash plume. It was preceded by an earthquake which measured 5.1 on the Richter Scale.
399px-MSH80_eruption_mount_st_helens_05-18-80-dramatic-edit

2.
Krakatoa 1883
Often described as the loudest sound ever on Earth, Krakatoa erupted with the power of 13,000 atom bombs. It was so loud, it was heard all over the planet ands virtuality destroyed the island it was on.
18 July 1995, destructive volcanic eruptions, Soufriere Hills, Montserrat, lava, magma, eruption, dormant, active, extinct, tectonic plates

1.
Tambora 1815
This 19th century eruption is described by many as the biggest of all time. 1816 is known as ‘the year without summer’ as the volcano blocked out so much of the Sun’s light and radiation.
<a href="http://howitworks.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Indonesia_Sunda_Straits.jpg"><img src="http://howitworks.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Indonesia_Sunda_Straits-616x422.jpg" alt="18 July 1995, destructive volcanic eruptions, Soufriere Hills, Montserrat, lava, magma, eruption, dormant, active, extinct, tectonic plates " width="610" height="417" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-21459" /></a>