10 most difficult vol­ca­noes riddles

Vesuvius is the only volcano on the European mainland. The rest of them are located on European islands, the most in Iceland (around 20).

Popocatépetl is 70 km (43 mi) southeast of Mexico City, from where it can be seen regularly, depending on atmospheric conditions. Until recently, the volcano was one of three tall peaks in Mexico to contain glaciers. It is linked to the Iztaccihuatl volcano to the north by the high saddle known as the Paso de Cortés.

In Antarctica we can find the Erebus high volcano at nearly 4 km, the Don Juan pond with a salinity of 44.2%, and the desert of the McMurdo Valleys. Lake Vostok with an oxygen content 5 times more than the average, however, is hidden under a 4 km layer of glacier.

According to the Volcanic Explosivity Index, the strongest types of volcanic eruptions are Plinian/Ultra-Plinian. Some of the notable examples in that category include Lake Toba, Tambora and Krakatoa.

Pele, known as the goddess of volcanoes and fire, is an important figure in Hawaiian culture. She represents all the phenomena related to volcanos — the magma, steam, ash, acid rain. Pele is an akua, or goddess, but not in the way people outside Hawaii might think of gods and goddesses.

The whole process begins when hot magma is lifted by convection to the magma chamber. As the pressure in the chamber is lower than deep in Earth's crust, the gas starts to release. Since degassed magma has lower density, it may then sink and be replaced with new one. This process may build up huge pressure of gases, eventually causing explosion.

Mount Apo is the largest and the tallest solfataric mountain on the island of Mindanao and in all of the Philippines. The mountain has an elevation of 9,692. Six indigenous groups of people including Bagobo, Ubos, and Tagacaol live around the regions of Mount Apo and consider the mountain a sacred place and also a place for worship rituals.

Kīlauea is one of the most active volcanoes on the planet and an invaluable resource for volcanologists who are able to study it up close due to its exclusively non-violent effusive activity. Kīlauea lacks a distinct peak and lies close to Mauna Loa.

Parícutin is a cinder cone volcano located in the Mexican state of Michoacán, near the city of Uruapan and about 322 kilometers (200 mi) west of Mexico City. The volcano surged suddenly from the cornfield of local farmer Dionisio Pulido in 1943, attracting both popular and scientific attention.

Mount Teide is a volcano on Tenerife in the Canary Islands, Spain. Its 3,718-metre (12,198 ft) summit is the highest point in Spain and the highest point above sea level in the islands of the Atlantic.