By far the most dominating feature in the Antarctic landscape around McMurdo is Mt Erebus. Erebus is nearly 12500 ft tall and only about 15 miles away from town (which very near sea level). It is an active volcano and has been continuously erupting since 1972. It actually has a crater and pool of lava inside like volcanos you see in the movies. On a normal day (picture above), the only evidence you see of activity is a small plume of steam and gas coming from the top.
Well, today, activity picked up on Erebus and the eruption intensified somewhat. Much more gas and steam was visible from the crater on the way to work this morning, and by this afternoon it was quite impressive with the whole crater ejecting gas. Rocks were also thrown from the crater according to the Erebus observatory, but none made it to work. One of the guys who has been coming here for 17 years said it was one the best eruptions he has seen. Below are a few pictures. The pictures are very cool, but being that close to something that powerful is definitely a very humbling experience.
Chris, WOW this must have been exciting and kinda scary at the same time. Do they have an evacuation plan or do they not expect it to erupt? Todd has to be there with you watching all of this excitement. I Love You MOM
ReplyDeleteCOOL PICS! If only your photographer wife had been there ;). Oh well, you didn't do sooooo bad.(JJ) You did pretty darn good if I do say so myself. Looks like fun times to me. Wish I could be there to share this stuff with you. I MISS YOU! Hope to hear more soon...
ReplyDeletePS Watch for those typos. They can really be a pain
Chris...These are really awesome pictures! You are experiencing things that very few will every have the opportunity to experience. We check every day to see what you have posted. Keep up the good work. Love Dad and Becky
ReplyDeleteThose are realy neat pictures and a good veiw,
ReplyDeleteI cant beleive that you got the chance to go to Antartica( It must be realy cold out there)
Love you,
Nathan
I can't imagine being there. It is so amazing to see even in pictures. I can't believe you are actually THERE. Simply amazing.
ReplyDeleteJust how AMAZING is it KIM?
ReplyDelete