BLOGGER TEMPLATES AND TWITTER BACKGROUNDS

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Mayon Volcano ( Mt. Mayon)


Mayon Volcano, also known as Mount Mayon, is an active stratovolcano in the province of Albay, in the Bicol Region, on the island of Luzon, in the Philippines.


Renowned as the "perfect cone" because of its almost symmetrically conical shape, Mayon forms the northern boundary of Legazpi City. Local folklore refers to the volcano as Bulkang Magayon (Filipino: 'Magayon Volcano'), after the legendary heroine Daragang Magayon (Bikol: 'Lady Beautiful').

On October 13, 2008 it was included in New 7 Wonders of Nature Top 10 list. However, it did not make the cut to the Top 25 finalists, giving way to the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River, another site in the Philippines.

Mayon Volcano is an active stratovolcano. The current cone was formed through pyroclastic and lava flows from past eruptions. Mayon is the most active of the active volcanos in the Philippines, having erupted over 49 times in the past 400 years.

It is located on the eastern side of Luzon, beside the Philippine Trench which is the convergent boundary where the Philippine Sea Plate is driven under the Philippine Mobile Belt. Where a continental plate or belt of continental fragments meets an oceanic plate, the lighter continental material overrides the oceanic plate, forcing it down into the Earth's mantle. Magma, formed where the rock melts, may be forced through weaknesses in the continental crust caused by the collision of the tectonic plates. One such exit point is Mayon.

Like other volcanoes located around the rim of the Pacific Ocean, Mayon is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire.

Mayon Volcano is the main landmark of Albay Province, Philippines. It is 10 kilometres (6 mi) from the Gulf of Albay, in the municipalities of Legazpi City, Daraga, Camalig, Guinobatan, Ligao City, Tabaco City, Malilipot, and Santo Domingo (clockwise from Legazpi). It rises 2462 m (8,077 ft) above the gulf.

Mayon Volcano is the Philippines' most active volcano and is considered to be the world's most perfectly formed volcano for its symmetrical cone. It is a basaltic-andesitic volcano. The upper slopes of the volcano are steep averaging 35-40 degrees and are capped by a small summit crater. Its sides are layers of lava and other volcanic material.



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