Mt. Pinatubo

www.galyeanfamily.net

Mount Pinatubo
Please be patient while this page loads.

In June of 1991, Mt. Pinatubo erupted. It was the second largest eruption in the 20th century. It was catastrophic. The lahar (mud made from volcanic ash) filled all the rivers and literally dried them out. Volcanic ash covered the island of Luzon like a giant snow storm. And debris from the eruption fell all over the world.

I knew that Mt. Pinatubo was hidden somewhere in the maintains behind the old Clark Air Base about two hours from our place here. The boys and I have often talked about someday finding the volcano. This past week we hired a guide and set out on the treacherous trip. The tourism office told us it was a one hour ride in a 4x4 jeep, and then a one hour hike. Well, it turned out to be a 3 hour hike UP the mountain. And then 5 hours back down because it got dark and started raining. Wow. Here is a little history of the volcano and then some pictures from our personal journey.



	These children are on a rooftop flooded by mud. In some cases, small villages were buried instantly.

How Volcanos Work
Volcanoes form when chambers of magma, or hot molten rock, boil to the surface. These magma chambers often remain sealed for hundreds of years between eruptions, until the pressure builds sufficiently to break through a vent, which is a crack or weak spot in the rock above.

The blast creates a crater, where lava and ash spill out, forming the cone. On some volcanoes, the magma chamber collapses after a violent eruption and a caldera forms, which is just a large, bowl-shaped crater. Sometimes these calderas fill with water.

Our Personal Journey

Once a mighty river, now filled with mud.	The 4x4 jeeps used for the first hour.

The view from the top of our jeep.	The formations are awesome.

Here we start the journey by foot.	The last 10 minutes. Steep incline.

The fog is trying to hide the crater.	But the fog starts to lift.

God lifted the fog so we could see.	Cold, tired, and very wet!

Nathan	Travis