Big Boiler fumarole (Bumpass Hell, Lassen Volcano National Park, California, USA) 1 : 無料・フリー素材/写真
Big Boiler fumarole (Bumpass Hell, Lassen Volcano National Park, California, USA) 1 / James St. John
| ライセンス | クリエイティブ・コモンズ 表示 2.1 |
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| 説明 | From park signage:[This area has a] residual mass of cooling andesite lava perhaps 3 miles deep. The "rotten egg" smell is hydrogen sulfide fumes rising from deep within this mass.Andesite lavas decompose readily but sulfuric acid and hot steam have greatly speeded up the process to carve out this barren, 16-acre bowl.Bumpass Hell occupies the old eroded vent of a dormant dome volcano - Bumpass Mountain. More than 75 fumaroles, hot springs, and mudpots compose this 16-acre hydrothermal area.The temperatures of each of the pools may vary. Which is all relative, of course, when "slightly cooler" means 150º Fahrenheit (66º Celsius), instead of 200º Fahrenheit (93º Celsius)!Big Boiler is the hottest fumarole - within a non-erupting volcano - in the world. The steam temperatures measured here reach as high as 322º Fahrenheit (161º Celsius). That's mighty hot. But for perspective, flowing lava can reach 2,000º Fahrenheit (1,093º Celsius) and the core of the Earth weighs in at a mere 12,000º Fahrenheit (6,648º Celsius).Constant churning action and heat eat away at surrounding clay banks, enlarging Big Boiler's size. Big Boiler has collapsed a huge portion of the surrounding clay crust since 1915. Just a few years ago, Big Boiler engulfed a portion of the boardwalk that once extended out from here. |
| 撮影日 | 2005-08-26 00:00:00 |
| 撮影者 | James St. John |
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