Active Volcanoes in the Philippines

For a list of Philippine mountains which include those classified as active volcanoes, see List of
mountains in the Philippines.
Active volcanoes in the Philippines, as categorized by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology
and Seismology (PHIVOLCS), include volcanoes in the country having erupted within historical
times (within the last 600 years), with accounts of these eruptions documented by humans; or
having erupted within the last 10,000 years (holocene) based on analyses of datable materials.
However, there is no consensus among volcanologists on how to define an "active" volcano. As
of 2012, PHIVOLCS lists 23 volcanoes as active in the Philippines, 21 of which have historical
eruptions; one, Cabalian, which is strongly fumarolic volcano [further explanation needed]; and
one, Leonard Kniaseff, which was active 1,800 years ago.
There are 50 Philippines volcanoes listed by the royal Smithsonian Institution's Global
Volcanism Program (GVP) at present,] of which 20 are categorized as "historical" and 59 as
"Holocene".The GVP lists volcanoes with historical, Holocene eruptions, or possibly older if
strong signs of volcanism are still evident through thermal features like fumaroles, hot springs,
mud pots, etc.

Mayon in Albay is the most active volcano in the Philippines

 Taal in Batangas

Kanlaon in Negros island

Bulusan in Sorsogon

Smith in Calayan
Hibok-Hibok in Camiguin

Pinatubo in Zambales
 Musuan in Bukidnon

Inactive Volcanoes in the Philippines

For a list of Philippine mountains which include those classified as inactive volcanoes, see List
of mountains in the Philippines.
This is a List of inactive volcanoes in the Philippines. Volcanoes with no record of eruptions are
considered as extinct or inactive. Their physical form since their last activity has been altered by
agents of weathering and erosion with the formation of deep and long gullies. Inactive does not
necessarily indicate the volcano will not erupt again. Mount Pinatubo had no recorded historical
eruption before its cataclysmic 1991 eruption.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) currently lists 355
volcanoes in the Philippines as inactive. The PHIVOLCS listing is the basis of this list, but with
additional information, some were reclassified in the active list or the potentially active list.
Volcanoes with solfataric or fumarolic activity indicating active magma supply such as Pocdol
Mountains, are placed in the List of potentially active volcanoes in the Philippines. This list
shows 339 inactive volcanoes in the Philippines, listed by volcanic region.
 Pocdol Mountains lies between Saragon Bay and Albay Gulf in southern Luzon.

Mount Balungao is an extinct volcano located in Pangasinan, Ilocos Region, on the island of
Luzon in the Philippines.
 Mahagnao Volcano Natural Park, Burauen, Leyte.

Mount Malindang is a complex volcano located in the province of Misamis Occidental in the
southern island of Mindanao, Philippines

Subduction
Subduction is a kind of geological recycling. It occurs at convergent tectonic plate boundaries or
where two tectonic plates come crashing together, in slow motion of course. At a convergent
boundary, two plates can come together and rise up into mountains. This is how the impressive
Himalayan Mountain range formed when India crashed into the rest of Asia. Another possibility
for a convergent boundary is subduction. Instead of both plates crumpling upwards to form
mountains, one sinks under the other and is recycled back into the mantle.
Subduction occurs when one plate sinks under another and is recycled into a deep layer of the
mantle, called the asthenosphere.
subduction
The Process of Subduction
As you know, the earth's crust is not continuous but divided up into pieces, like a puzzle. These
pieces, the tectonic plates, move around relative to each other, powered by circular convection
cycles in the fluid mantle, a layer beneath the crust. Some plates move sideways past each other,
some pull apart from each other, and others come together. The latter are convergent plates.
In a region in which one of two convergent plates sinks under the other, we call it a subduction
zone. A tectonic plate is made of both crust, or the outer layer of the earth, and a thin upper layer
of the mantle. Together, these two layers are called lithosphere. The two tectonic plates and the
lithosphere involved in a subduction zone may both be oceanic, or one may be oceanic and the
other continental.
When an oceanic lithosphere meets a continental lithosphere in a subduction zone, the oceanic
plate always goes under the continental plate. This is the rule because the rock making up an
oceanic lithosphere is denser than in a continental lithosphere. When two oceanic plates come
together, one may sink under the other.
The mantle underneath the lithosphere is hot, fluid rock. When one plate sinks into it during
subduction, it melts into the mantle. Essentially, the rock making up that plate is getting
recycled. New plates form at tectonic boundaries that are diverging. At these boundaries, usually
under the ocean, two plates pull apart and magma wells up and hardens, forming new rock and
crust.

Subduction and Volcanoes

The movement of one plate under another and the recycling of rock into magma can lead to some
exciting geologic activity. Deep earthquakes can occur as the two plates rub against each other
and release energy, but they are not as common or as devastating as the earthquakes that occur at
other types of plate boundaries. More interesting is the formation of volcanoes in subduction
zones.
As the lithosphere melts into the magma of the mantle, this fluid rock bubbles up through cracks
in the crust and erupts, forming volcanoes. These volcanoes form in a line along the subduction
zone. When oceanic crust sinks under continental crust, we see a line of volcanoes, called a
volcanic arc, form on the continent, usually as part of a mountain range. With oceanic crust
sinking under other oceanic crust, the volcanoes form under water. The result is a chain of
volcanic islands called an island arc.

When one oceanic plate sinks under another it creates an island arc of volcanoes. When oceanic
crust sinks under continental crust it forms a chain of volcanoes on land called a volcanic arc.

Tectonic Plate
A tectonic plate (also called lithospheric plate) is a massive, irregularly shaped slab of solid rock,
generally composed of both continental and oceanic lithosphere. Plate size can vary greatly, from
a few hundred to thousands of kilometers across; the Pacific and Antarctic Plates are among the
largest. Plate thickness also varies greatly, ranging from less than 15 km for young oceanic
lithosphere to about 200 km or more for ancient continental lithosphere (for example, the interior
parts of North and South America).
How do these massive slabs of solid rock float despite their tremendous weight? The answer lies
in the composition of the rocks. Continental crust is composed of granitic rocks which are made
up of relatively lightweight minerals such as quartz and feldspar. By contrast, oceanic crust is
composed of basaltic rocks, which are much denser and heavier. The variations in plate thickness
are nature's way of partly compensating for the imbalance in the weight and density of the two
types of crust. Because continental rocks are much lighter, the crust under the continents is much
thicker (as much as 100 km) whereas the crust under the oceans is generally only about 5 km
thick. Like icebergs, only the tips of which are visible above water, continents have deep "roots"
to support their elevations.
Most of the boundaries between individual plates cannot be seen, because they are hidden
beneath the oceans. Yet oceanic plate boundaries can be mapped accurately from outer space by
measurements from GEOSAT satellites. Earthquake and volcanic activity is concentrated near
these boundaries. Tectonic plates probably developed very early in the Earth's 4.6-billion-year
history, and they have been drifting about on the surface ever since-like slow-moving bumper
cars repeatedly clustering together and then separating.
Like many features on the Earth's surface, plates change over time. Those composed partly or
entirely of oceanic lithosphere can sink under another plate, usually a lighter, mostly continental
plate, and eventually disappear completely. This process is happening now off the coast of
Oregon and Washington. The small Juan de Fuca Plate, a remnant of the formerly much larger
oceanic Farallon Plate, will someday be entirely consumed as it continues to sink beneath the
North American Plate.
There are three main types of volcano
Composite Volcanoes
Composite volcanoes, sometimes known as strato volcanoes, are steep sided cones formed from
layers of ash and [lava] flows. The eruptions from these volcanoes may be a pyroclastic flow
rather than a flow of lava. A pyroclastic flow is a superheated mixture of hot steam, ash, rock
and dust. A pyroclastic flow can travel down the side of a volcano at very high speeds with
temperatures over 400 degrees celsius. Composite volcanoes can rise over 8000 feet.

When composite volcanoes erupt they are explosive and pose a threat to nearby life and property.
Eruptions are explosive due to the thick, highly viscous lava that is produced by composite cone
volcanoes. This viscous lava has a lot to do with why they are shaped the way they are. The thick
lava cannot travel far down the slope of the volcano before it cools.
Composite volcanoes are usually found at destructive plate margins. Examples of composite
volcanoes include Mount Fuji (Japan), Mount St Helens (USA) and Mount Pinatubo
(Philippines).

Shield Volcanoes
Shield volcanoes are low with gently sloping sides and are formed from layers of lava. Eruptions
are typically non-explosive. Shield volcanoes produce fast flowing fluid [lava] that can flow for
many miles. Eruptions tend to be frequent but relatively gentle. Although these eruptions destroy
property, death or injury to humans rarely occurs.
Shield volcanoes are usually found at constructive boundaries and sometimes at volcanic
hotspots. Examples of shield volcanoes include Mount Kilauea and Maunaloa on Hawaii.

Dome (Acid Lava Cones)

Acid [lava] is much thicker than [lava] which flows from shield volcanoes. Dome volcanoes
have much steeper sides than shield volcanoes. This is because the lava is thick and sticky. It
cannot flow very far before ot cools and hardens. An example is Puy de Dome in the Auvergne
region of France which last erupted over 1 million years ago.
Lava domes often form in the craters or on the flanks of composite volcanoes but they can form
independently. Composite volcanoes typically produce high-viscosity rhyolitic magma that
cannot flow far from the vent before it begins to solidify. When a mass of high-viscosity, usually
rhyolitc, lava cools and solidifies over and around a vent, pressure from magma within the
volcano expands the cooled lava from within, creating a lava dome. Lava domes may look like
rough, craggy forms over a vent, or they may appear as short, thick lava flows with steep sides
called "coulees."
Activity
In
Science
Submitted By:
Kim Justine M. Cabarrubias
Grade 9- Patience

Submitted To:
Mrs. Waldetrudis Bringas