Tag: volcano

MAUNA LOA: Il più grande vulcano attivo del mondo erutta alle Hawaii

Posted on by Luca Oliveri

Il Mauna Loa è il più grande vulcano attivo del mondo e dopo 38 anni erutta nell’isola di Big Island.

un ragazzo su una jeep vicino al vulcano

Chissà se con quest’eruzione diventerà anche il vulcano più alto?

Il Mauna Loa si trova all’interno del Parco Nazionale dei Vulcani delle Hawaii e copre metà dell’isola di Big Island. Il vulcano sorge a 4.169 m sopra il livello del mare e si estende su un’area di oltre 5.180 km quadrati (oltre 2.000 miglia quadrate).

È esploso alle 23:30 ora locale di domenica 27 novembre a Moku’āweoweo, la caldera sommitale del vulcano, una delle cavità che si formano abitualmente sotto la cima alla fine di un’eruzione.

un albero nella lava

Le eruzioni del Mauna Loa

Secondo l’USGS, il Mauna Loa ha eruttato 33 volte dal 1843. La precedente eruzione nel 1984 ha fatto fluire la lava fino a 5 miglia da Hilo, la città più popolosa dell’isola.

Come sarà questa volta?

MAUNA LOA e MAUNA KEA

Il Mauna Loa è il vulcano attivo più grande del mondo. Ci sono altri vulcani più grandi ma questi sono classificati come dormienti, nel senso che non eruttano da molto tempo, o estinti, nel senso che non erutteranno in futuro.

Il Mauna Loa condivide Big Island con il Mauna Kea, la montagna più alta del mondo se misurata dalla sua base sottomarina a quasi 20.000 piedi sotto la superficie dell’oceano.

PELE, la dea del vulcano

Pelé vive a Mauna Loa?
Le leggende popolari raccontano che Pele vive sul Mauna Loa, anche se si sposta tra i vulcani attivi di Kilauea, Hualalai e Loihi. Talvolta visita anche il vulcano attivo, Haleakalā, a Maui.

Il folklore dice che Pele può essere avvistata come una palla di fuoco nel cielo che viaggia verso il vulcano poco prima che erutti.

Forse il Mauna Loa ha saputo che nel nostro romanzo “L’isola delle scale proibite” abbiamo raccontato di Pele, sua abituale ospite e vuole sapere cosa abbiamo detto di lei? Eccolo accontentato:


“Pele, furibonda, lasció subito le sue sembianze umane trasformandosi rapidamente nella sua vera essenza: il fuoco e le fiamme. Si alzò come un’imponente vampata che trasformò Ohia in un albero contorto e dall’aspetto gracile e malaticcio, come è ancor oggi…“

da L’isola delle scale proibite – Pagina 122

Per acquistare il romanzo clicca QUI

The 3 most fascinating places in Lanzarote

Posted on by Luca Oliveri

Is it too simplistic to make a ranking that contains only the 3 most magical places on the island? Which are the places you can’t miss if you have only 3 days?

Volcan el Cuervo

Lanzarote is the northernmost and easternmost island of the Canary Islands and has a volcanic origin. There are more than 300 dormant volcanoes scattered across the island.

We are a hundred kilometers from the coast of Morocco. The landscape is lunar and so fascinating that it requires a great effort not to travel uninterruptedly its streets, even without a specific destination but just for the satisfying pleasure of experiencing the island in its majesty.

The island is almost entirely covered with solidified lava, which, depending on the sunlight, takes on various colors: from black to pink, from purple to ocher.

Which are the 3 most fascinating places on the island?

Perhaps, it is too simplistic to make a ranking that contains only the 3 most magical places on the island. There are undoubtedly many ideas where to experience the magnetic energy of volcanoes and many picturesque beaches where you can relax in the sun. But if we only have a few days available, here are my tips to ensure you to get the best of the island’s energy: the surfers’ beach, the volcanoes road, trekking in the Risco de Famara area.

Are you more of an adventurous person who loves hiking or a beach person?

If you are more of a beach type, then you will love “Playa de Famara” because it is incredibly wild, big, with constant waves making it the ideal beach for surfers. The surrounding mountains embrace it and guard it as in a temple. This is the place where I felt most the Hawaiian beaches sensation.

It’s a pale golden sand beach that stretches out for over five kilometers located within the Natural Park of the Chinijo Archipelago, between the fishing village of La Caleta de Famara and the base of the impressive cliffs of Famara. The best moment to enjoy it is when the water forms a thin film on the sand, reflecting the sky and the cliffs like a gigantic mirror.

There I spent some time on the sand relaxing, I witnessed the sunset light that colored everything, even if that day the sky was overcast, I took pictures of the dunes that fall on the beach and then into the roaring sea.

Playa de Famara

If, on the other hand, you are more of a hiking type…

…then you can’t miss the “Cueva de las Cabras” and the “Risco de Famara”.

The cliff is impressive, the view from that incredible height of 672mt is both on the sea and beach, and on the surrounding volcanoes and, if the sky is clear enough, you can clearly see the Timanfaya National Park with its volcanoes.

“Cueva de las Cabras” is a little bit dangerous short hike that leads you into this cave from where the view is spectacular. And if you’re brave enough, you can try to climb the rock that guards the cave, like in my photo, and enjoy the majestic scenery under your feet.

Cueva de las Cabras

The most magical place in Lanzarote is undoubtedly the road of the volcanoes

In a primordial world, life is born from the lava of volcanoes. We are born from the ground, we are molded land. I find myself in the contemplation of the ancient breath of creation.

Timanfaya – volcanoes road

And if photography is to wait for the perfect light and then paint with it the picture, this road is undoubtedly the ideal spot where the light is simply astonishing. Here I was captured, barefoot, at sunset, while I was trying to take away that stunning magnetic moment with me.

Timanfaya – volcanoes road

I felt like I had landed on the moon amid the color of the sunset and the black of the lava.

I felt tiny in front of such an extraordinary landscape.

I felt the need to return several times, simply to cross this road, attracted by an energy born from the ground and feeling absolutely connected with that place. The experience was the most wonderful lived in Lanzarote.