Physical Challenges: USA

The USA is the third largest country in the world. The eastern half o the USA is comprised of flat land, all
but the Appalachian Mountains. The Central Plains are flat or gently rolling plains with the Great Plains
next to them at a slightly higher altitude; these two form a key farming region for cattle, crops, etc. The
highest land is on the west reaching their peak with the Rocky Mountains.

Alaska is very cold as it is further north and bordering the Arctic Circle, some is even within this sector.
Most of it is tundra or permafrost. However, most of the south enjoy tropical climate as can be seen in
Hawaii. The Mojave desert is much warmer and comprised of mostly soil and low shrubs. Large land
masses heat up fast in summer and cool fast in winter, leading to greater temperature changes in seasons
further inland.

Natural hazards are a given in the USA, as in many parts of the world. Just as is the case with China, two
of the Earth’s plates meet under the land, below sea level. This positioning makes earthquakes and
eruptions a hazard. Major hurricanes often strike to the south east coast too. On the subject of strong
winds, tornadoes with the strength to carry houses away are also common inland in spring and summer.
Droughts are another problem. They are due to low rainfall and can lead to wildfires, these, however, are
also affected by human influences and are, therefore, not entirely natural.

Active Volcanoes:
Makushin - last erupted in 1995, Alaska near the Bering sea.
Akutan - stratovolcano last erupted in 1992, as well near the Bering Sea.
Augustine - lava dome with current activity in the south of Alaska.
Redoubt - stratovolcano last erupted 1990
Spurr - stratovolcano, last erupted 1992
Glacier Peak - stratovolcano, last erupted in 1700 +/- 100 years, Washington
Rainier - stratovolcano last erupted 1825, Washington
St. Helens - stratovolcano with current activity, Washington
Hood - stratovolcano, last erupted 1866, Washington
South Sister - complex volcano, last erupted in 50 BC approx. Oregon
Newberry - shield volcano, last erupted 620 AD +/- 200 years. Oregon
Crater Lake - Caldera, last erupted 2290 BC +/- 300 years. South Oregon
Shasta - Stratovolcano, last erupted in 1786, California.
Lassen - stratovolcano last erupted 1917, California.
Long Valley - Caldera, last erupted in the Pleistocene.

A stratovolcano, sometimes called a composite volcano, is a tall, conical volcano with many layers
(strata) of hardened lava, tephra, and volcanic ash. Stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile
and periodic, explosive eruptions. The lava that flows from stratovolcanoes tends to be viscous; it cools
and hardens before spreading far. The magma forming this lava is often felsic, having high-to-
intermediate levels of silica (as in rhyolite, dacite, or andesite), with lesser amounts of less-viscous mafic
magma.

In volcanology, a lava dome is a roughly circular mound-shaped protrusion resulting from the slow
extrusion of viscous lava from a volcano. The geochemistry of lava domes can vary from basalt to
rhyolite although most preserved domes tend to have high silica content. The characteristic dome shape is
attributed to high viscosity that prevents the lava from flowing very far. This high viscosity can be
obtained in two ways: by high levels of silica in the magma, or by degassing of fluid magma. Since
viscous basaltic and andesitic domes weather fast and easily break apart by further input of fluid lava,
most of the preserved domes have high silica content and consists of rhyolite or dacite.

A complex volcano, also called a compound volcano, is a volcano with more than one feature. They form
because changes of their eruptive characteristics or the location of multiple vents in an area.
Stratovolcanoes may form complex volcanoes, because they may overlap another from explosive
eruptions, lava flows, pyroclastic flows and by repeated eruptions, to make multiple summits and vents.
Stratovolcanoes could also form a large caldera that gets filled in by multiple small cinder cones, lava
domes and craters may also develop on the caldera's rim.

A caldera is a cauldron-like volcanic feature usually formed by the collapse of land following a volcanic
eruption such as the ones at Yellowstone National Park in the US and Glen Coe in Scotland. They are
sometimes confused with volcanic craters. The word comes from Spanish caldera, and this from Latin
CALDARIA, meaning "cooking pot". In some texts the English term cauldron is also used.

The volcanoes of USA are located along the west coast, at the subduction of the Pacific and North
American tectonic plates. Alaska and Hawaii contain currently active volcanoes. At the momento, several
programs and hazard alerts exist to warn about any approaching eruptions.