Nature's Fury: When Volcanoes Erupt

Aug. 30: Mount Sinabung spews volcanic materials into the sky in Karo, North Sumatra, Indonesia. The volcano had been dormant for more than four centuries before erupting for the second day in a row Monday, spewing towering clouds of ash and forcing the evacuation of more than 21,000 people. (AP Photo/Roone Patikawa)

Aug. 30: Mount Sinabung spews volcanic materials into the sky in Karo, North Sumatra, Indonesia. The volcano had been dormant for more than four centuries before erupting for the second day in a row Monday, spewing out towering clouds of ash and forcing the evacuation of more than 21,000 people. (AP Photo/Roone Patikawa)

Aug. 29: Mount Sinabung spews volcanic smoke in Karo, North Sumatra, Indonesia. It is the volcano's first eruption since the year 1600, forcing thousands of people living around its slopes to evacuate their homes. (AP)

Aug. 29: Mount Sinabung emits volcanic smoke as it erupts in Karo, North Sumatra, Indonesia. The volcano spewed hot lava and sand high into the sky early Sunday in its first eruption in 400 years. (AP)

The Tungurahua volcano spews ash and rocks during an eruption in Banos, about 130 km (81 miles) southeast of Quito, June 2, 2010. Tungurahua has been classed as active since 1999 and had a strong eruption in 2008. It is one of eight active volcanoes in the country. (REUTERS/Carlos Campana)

The Tungurahua volcano spews ash and rocks during an eruption in Banos, about 130 km (81 miles) southeast of Quito, June 2, 2010. Tungurahua has been classed as active since 1999 and had a strong eruption in 2008. It is one of eight active volcanoes in the country.  (REUTERS/Carlos Campana)

The Tungurahua volcano throws ashes during an explosion in El Santuario, Ecuador, Saturday, May 29, 2010. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)

Volcano Tungurahua throws ash and stones during an explosion, just before midnight Friday May 28, 2010, in Cotalo, Ecuador. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)

The Tungurahua volcano throws ash and stones during an explosion, just before midnight Friday May 28, 2010, in Cotalo, Ecuador. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)

The Santiaguito volcano spews ash into the air during an eruption near the town of El Palmar, Guatemala April 28, 2010. (REUTERS/Daniel LeClair)

The Tungurahua volcano throws ashes and stones during an explosion in Cotalo, early Saturday, May 29, 2010. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)

March 18: An a undersea volcano erupts off the coast of Tonga, tossing clouds of smoke, steam and ash thousands of feet into the sky above the South Pacific ocean. The eruption was at sea about 6 miles from the southwest coast off the main island of Tongatapu, an area where up to 36 undersea volcanoes are clustered. (AP)

The Tungurahua volcano throws ash and stones during an explosion, just before midnight Friday May 28, 2010, in Cotalo, Ecuador. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)

March 18: An undersea volcano erupts off the coast of Tonga, tossing clouds of smoke, steam and ash thousands of feet into the sky above the South Pacific ocean (AP)

March 17: An undersea volcano erupts off the coast of Tonga, tossing clouds of smoke, steam and ash thousands of feet into the sky above the South Pacific ocean (AP)

The Soufriere Hills volcano erupts in the Caribbean island of Montserrat, Saturday, Jan. 23, 2010. (AP Photo/Wayne Fenton)

The Soufriere Hills volcano erupts in the Caribbean island of Montserrat, Saturday, Jan. 23, 2010. (AP Photo/Wayne Fenton)

March 17: An undersea volcano erupts off the coast of Tonga, tossing clouds of smoke, steam and ash thousands of feet into the sky above the South Pacific ocean. (AP)

(AP)

The Northern Lights are seen above the ash plume of Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano in the evening April 22, 2010. (REUTERS/Lucas Jackson)

The Northern Lights are seen above the ash plume of Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano April 23, 2010. Iceland's volcanic eruption was spewing far less ash on Thursday and the plume of smoke was low, but a change of wind direction meant the north Atlantic island's main airports were now set to close for the first time. (REUTERS/Ingolfur Juliusson)

The Northern Lights are seen above the ash plume of Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano in the evening April 22, 2010. (REUTERS/Lucas Jackson)

The Northern Lights are seen above the ash plume of Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano in the evening April 22, 2010. (REUTERS/Lucas Jackson)

April 21: Activity is seen from the volcano in southern Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull glacier. Geologists continued to keep a close watch on the Iceland volcano Eyjafjallajokull on Wednesday, as observers noticed a change in the eruption pattern. Instead of thick black smoke, the plume was almost white... and more like steam than black ash. (AP Photo/Brynjar Gauti)

April 17: Lightning streaks across the sky as lava flows from a volcano in Eyjafjallajokul. The Icelandic volcano is spewing ash into the air and wreaking havoc on flights across Europe -- and could continue to erupt for days or even months to come, officials said.  (REUTERS/Lucas Jackson)

"After sunset is the best time of day to photograph volcanos," writes an Icelandic photographer who captured some stunning images of the eruption. "I have narrowed it down to a 15-minute time frame that renders the best light both for the flying magma and the fore/background. Here we can see the volcano and Tindfjallajökull glacier which is also is a volcano but has not erupted in thousands of years." (Orvatli / Flickr)

"The eruption is technically not in the Eyjafjallajökull Glacier but between it and the next glacier, Mýrdalsjökull," writes an Icelandic photographer who captured some stunning images of the volcanic eruption in Eyjafjallajökull glacier. "Mýrdalsjökull glacier is Eyjafjallajökull glacier's bigger brother, both in terms of size of the glacier and also in terms of capability and size of its eruptions. Under the bigger brother lies the powerful and dangerous Katla caldera. It erupts every 60-80 years." (Orvatli / Wikipedia)

"This is earth in its making," writes an Icelandic photographer who captured some stunning photographs of the Eyjafjallajökull Eruption. He explained that the edge of the lava flow moved very slowly outward from the main lava flow. "Because it moved so slowly I could get very close to its hot edge. On its edge it was very interesting to see rocks being formed as they broke from higher and rolled down onto the snow." (Orvatli / Flickr)

"The eruption seems to be escalating with lava now flowing into the beautiful and rugged Þórmörk," writes an Icelandic photographer who captured some stunning images of the volcanic eruption." "The road I went yesterday is now closed so getting any closer than this is now very hard without some serious hiking (and probably very stormy too)." (Orvatli / Flickr)

"YES! I got close to the eruption," writes an Icelandic photographer who captured some stunning pictures of the eruption. "It was the most awesome experience I have had years. The size of it (even if it is a very small eruption), the loud noise, the explosions, the heat, the smell, the melting glaciers, the 100m high lava-fall, the location itself made this an experience I will never forget. Being this close to nature in all its force is... well I can't describe it in words, it was a little surreal." (Orvatli / Flickr)

April 14: In this image taken by the Icelandic Coastguard, smoke and steam rises from the volcano under the Eyjafjallajokull glacier in Iceland, which erupted for the second time in less than a month, melting ice, shooting smoke and steam into the air and forcing hundreds of people to flee rising floodwaters. Authorities evacuated 800 residents from around the glacier as rivers rose by up to 10 feet. Emergency officials and scientists said the eruption under the ice cap was 10 to 20 times more powerful than one last month, and carried a much greater risk of widespread flooding. (AP Photo/Icelandic Coastguard, ho)

March 21: Molten lava vents from a rupture near the Eyjafjallajokull glacier in Iceland, as a volcano erupts early in the morning. Hundreds of people have been evacuated from a small village in southern Iceland after the volcanic eruption shot ash and molten lava into the air, the first major eruption here in nearly 200 years. (AP Photo/Ragnar Axelsson)

March 21: This frame grab from APTN shows the volcano near the Eyjafjallajoekull glacier, the fifth largest glacier in Iceland, as it begins erupting early Sunday morning. Fearing flooding from the glacier melt, authorities evacuated some 400 people in the area 100 miles southeast of the capital, Reykjavik, as a precaution but no damage or injuries have been reported according to authorities. The last time the volcano erupted was in the 1820s. (AP Photo/APTN)

March 21: Seen in this aerial photo, molten lava vents from a rupture near the Eyjafjallajokull glacier in Iceland, as a volcano erupts early Sunday. Some hundreds of people have been evacuated from a small village in southern Iceland on Sunday after the volcanic eruption shot ash and molten lava into the air, the first major eruption here in nearly 200 years. (AP Photo/Ragnar Axelsson)

March 21: Molten lava vents from a rupture near the Eyjafjallajokull glacier in Iceland, as a volcano erupts early Sunday, seen in this aerial photo. Hundreds of people have been evacuated from a small village in southern Iceland on Sunday after the eruption shot ash and molten lava into the air, the first major eruption here in nearly 200 years. (AP Photo/Ragnar Axelsson)

March 21: In this aerial photo, showing molten lava as it vents from a rupture near the Eyjafjallajokull glacier in Iceland, as a volcano erupts early Sunday. Some hundreds of people have been evacuated from a small nearby village in southern Iceland on Sunday after a volcanic eruption which shot ash and molten lava into the air, the first major eruption here in nearly 200 years. (AP Photo/Ragnar Axelsson)