Earth birth: 7 stunning pictures of volcano islands

Geological processes on our planet do not stop even for a minute, and we can observe how the birth of new land areas occurs. Such locations are confined to zones of active geological faults and to the junction of lithospheric plates. In just a few decades, a new island, born of an underwater volcano, can appear from under the water and turn into a large land area. Magma, pouring out, forms the basis of the future island, centimeter by centimeter conquering the land from an insatiable ocean. Years pass and the first plants and animals appear on the islands from volcanic rocks, which already consider a small piece of land, surrounded on all sides by water, as their native home. On some islands, despite the formidable neighborhood in the form of a smoking volcano, people even live. We offer a look at our selection of the most picturesque volcano islands on planet Earth.

White Island, New Zealand

The last time this stratovolcano erupted only 6 years ago, so we can say that the processes of land formation here are very active and the appearance of the island is constantly changing.

Located near the North Island, this piece of land is currently uninhabited, although there were periods when people lived on it and mined sulfur. Today, development has been discontinued due to constant eruptions, but tourists often visit the amazing island.

Nishinoshima, Japan

This is a very active volcano island, which first appeared from under the water in the 70s of the last century.

Since then, the island has been growing and constantly changing its shape, but, despite the constant eruptions and the flow of volcanic rocks, its height does not exceed 100 meters.

Montserrat Island, the overseas territory of Great Britain in the Caribbean

The history of this island with the Soufriere Hills volcano is very sad. More than 10 thousand people lived here 25 years ago.

But after the volcano woke up and began to actively erupt in 1995, the capital of the island - the city of Plymouth - was buried along with the airport along a layer of lava and ash. Most of the population was evacuated, although today about 5 thousand people live here, and the island itself is very popular among tourists visiting the Lesser Antilles.

Stromboli, Italy

This giant did a lot of trouble even in the ancient era, when the tsunami wave from its eruption swept across the Mediterranean.

Nevertheless, today the volcano looks quite peaceful, and an Italian settlement is located at its foot. The island is always shrouded in a cloud of smoke, as this unusual volcano several times per hour reminds residents and tourists that it is too early to translate it into the category of sleeping people.

Chirinkotan, Kuril Islands, Russia

This picturesque volcano is part of the Kuril Islands and also regularly demonstrates its activity.

Once there were Ainu camps that were engaged in fishing, but at the moment there is no permanent population on the island, and even scientists and tourists are not so frequent guests here. The main population of the island is feathered inhabitants, who thrive in the absence of predators and are ready to suffer frequent eruptions of Chirinkotan in exchange for safety.

Augustine Volcano, Kenai Bay, Alaska

This amazingly beautiful volcano is located off the coast of the Alaskan Peninsula and is considered quite young. According to estimates of volcanologists, he is no more than 2000 years old.

Due to his magnificent appearance, Augustine is very popular among tourists and even Hollywood directors who make films here.

Anak Krakatau, Indonesia

Anak-Krakatau is one of several islands that arose as a result of the destruction of the famous volcano Krakatau.

Today, the crater of the updated Krakatau is located on it. The island of Anak-Krakatau first appeared in the 1920s and since then has been repeatedly destroyed by sea waters, until the volcano finally could not form a significant amount of lava and ash sufficient to firmly establish itself above the surface of the ocean.