The Mayon Volcano's symmetrical cone makes it an icon of the Philippines. This volcano also has the distinction of being the Philippines' most active volcano--with tens of thousands of people living in its shadow.
Location
The Mayon Volcano is on the Philippine island of Luzon, overlooking the Albay Gulf.
Features
The Mayon is a stratovolcano, meaning it is made of many layers of volcanic sediment. Its summit is 2,462 meters, and it has a perfectly symmetrical, cone-shaped appearance, with graceful, steep slopes that have 35- to 40-degree angles. The volcano is topped by a small summit crater.
Activity
As of September 2010, there had been 40 eruptions since Mayon's first recorded eruption in 1616, according to the Global Volcanism Program. The worst eruption, recorded in 1814, killed more than 1,200 people.
Flow Types
The Mayon produces lava flows, mud flows and pyroclastic flows--a mixture of half-molten rock fragments and hot, toxic gasses that can rush down a volcano at more than 100 kilometers per hour, according to the San Diego University Department of Geological Sciences.
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