Small because the tongue is only about 10 meters (over 30 feet high). In fact, during the summer when the sea ice surrounding the tongue melts, the ice tongue will float without thawing - but does occasionally calf off fairly small icebergs. Erebus constantly feeds glaciers through the ice tongue, it has become part of the landscape. Lastly, this volcano has a tongue – an ice tongue that is! Ice tongues form when a glacier is moving very quickly to the shore. The tongue is the long narrow part edged in blue. Its difficult to see it all from the ground so here's an aerial view of the Erebus ice tongue. The great thing about these caves, besides the crystals and the interesting light reflections is that they are warm (for Antarctica at least) since the inside temperature of these caves can reach about 32☏!Īren't these ice crystals amazing! Image credit:. This steam creates ice crystals that look like rocky cave formations. Again the key here is the steam and gases rising from underground. Erebus also creates beautiful ice caves under the snow. In addition to these fanciful structures, Mt. However, these structures are not very sturdy and collapse easily – just to be rebuilt again by the steam! Hot Hideaways As the steam rises, it freezes instantly creating long winding towers that can be up to 60 feet tall! You can think of these as chimneys that help to release pressure under the volcano. Ice towers are formed when steam escapes from the volcano and melts the snow above the ground. One of these forms is called an ice tower or fumarole.Ī fumarole at the bottom of Mt. Erebus is the hottest thing around it creates some spectacular formations out of the ice surrounding it. Not sure I'd want to hop in that lake! Image credit. The depth of this lake is unknown (perhaps miles deep), but volcanologists find it fascinating because they can learn what goes on inside a volcano by studying this lake. This volcano is home to one of the five constant lava lakes in the world! Always exposed at the top of the volcano, the lava temperature is about 1700☏. The hottest thing about this volcano is not the constant stream of smoke coming from its top. Erebus erupting - it has a great lava lake eruption and a lava bomb! Melting Cone This volcano erupts frequently, sometimes more than once a day, spewing lava, lava bombs (balls of gooey lava that are shot into the air by the force of the eruption) and tons of smoke and steam. It was discovered by James Ross in 1841 (while it was erupting!) who named this volcano and a smaller volcano near it after his ships – Erebus and Terror. It is what volcanologists (people who study volcanoes) call a stratovolcano which basically means it is cone shaped with steep sides. Erebus and is the southernmost active volcano and is the second highest volcano in Antarctica. That’s right, there is a volcano (in fact there are 35 volcanoes) in Antarctica! This particular volcano is named Mt. McMurdo station, sits at the bottom of a volcano. Erebus - several miles in front it it and it still looks big! Photo credit: Patrick Robinson. Erebus: Liquid Lava, Steamy Gas, Solid IceĪlways in the distance, there is a smoking reminder that Antarctica is a place of extremes! From ice and glaciers to lava and volcanoes – Antarctica is one intense place.Īlex in front of Mt. Thanks Bartlett Elementary and Campus School! Mt. Hillhouse and her 4th grade CLUE students at Campus School Diane Rath and her 3rd grade students at Bartlett Elementary.
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