Volcano: In the Belly of the Beast: Scientists know what makes a volcano blow but still cannot say when

Scientists know what makes a volcano blow but still cannot say when

The blowout that was so evidently seen and heard . . . gave off three muffled cannon rounds like a bombardment, so loud that they could be heard for more than 30 leagues around the base. In the region there were two rivers, the Guali and the La-gunilla . . . both were flooded with melted snow. It didn't really seem like water, but masses of ash and soil, with such a pestilent odor of sulfur that it couldn't be tolerated even from afar.

That vivid eyewitness account could be a description of last week's furious eruption of the Nevado del...

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