We all tend to be focused on the volcanic eruption close to where we live. Surprising to most, there must at this very moment be more than two dozen volcanoes erupting somewhere on Planet Earth:
Double that if you want to include "minor" activity (orange). Most of this action occurs on the Ring of Fire:
At the risk of totally losing you, this condition is caused by the movement of tectonic plates:
Eruptions occur elsewhere, too, like along the Great Rift Valley, from Lebanon to Mozambique:
Note in the top map that Mount Erebus is active. It is on the very bottom of the West Antarctic Rift:
But the Lower Puna Eruption now in Day 32, is not anywhere near any of the above rifts. That is because there is something called the Hawaii Hotspot, which is a hole where magma escapes to the surface, while the tectonic plate slowly moves west.
In geologic time these plates move about 12,400 miles in 100,000 years. Thus, 27.7 million years ago Midway was over this spot, while the next island will be Loihi, 22 miles off the southeast coast of the Big Island and currently, yet, 3000 feet underwater. This future island began forming 400,000 years ago, is already 10,000 feet tall and should reach the surface of the Pacific Ocean somewhere between 10,000 and 100,000 years from today. This seamount experienced 4,070 earthquakes in 1996, and has continued to be quite active.
The two eruptions most covered by the media are occurring on the Big Island of Hawaii and Guatemala. The Lower Puna Eruption seems like Ol' Man River, he jes' keeps rollin' along. Still only one death...by suicide.
Information is sketchy, but that Volcan de Fuego outburst is reported to have killed 69, with many still missing. Guatemala City is 25 miles from the volcano. Hilo is 30 miles from Kapoho, but that is in road-traveled distance. So both cities are probably a similar distance to activity.
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