Volcano Report

Physical Geology
Georgia Perimeter College

Background information:

Assignment:

• Your assignment is to use the Volcano Information Page (see link on your class home page) to find information on a currently erupting volcano and write a two page report on it.

• By clicking on the Michigan Technological University Page, and scrolling down, you will come to a section entitled "Recent and On-going Volcanic Activity". You can click on Volcano World, and then on "Volcanoes of the World", and then on "What's Erupting Now?" You are expected to fully explore all volcano links that have information relating to your volcano. Do not look at one or two references and then stop. If I can find the reference, then I will expect you to find it too.

• Your report must be typed on a word processor.

• Your references must come from on-line sources only.
  Please use web resources, and cite them correctly, using one of the following guides.
  • Citing Electronic Sources - MLA.
  • Columbia Online Style: MLA-Style Citations of Electronic Sources (Endorsed by the Alliance for Computers & Writing)
  • Writers Handbook - Citing Electronic Sources
  • Citation of Electronic Resources

• For the volcano you select, include the following information in your report:
  1. Name of volcano (include one or more pictures, if possible)
  2. Geographic location
  3. Name of nearest city (include nearest major city if small towns are closest)
  4. Distance to nearest city (include nearest major city if small towns are closest)
  5. Population of nearest city (include nearest major city if small towns are closest)
  6. Dates of most recent eruptions
  7. Type of volcano (shield, cinder cone, composite or strato volcano)
  8. Composition of the igneous rock or magma (andesitic, basaltic, etc.)
  9. Temperature (if available)
  10. Gas content (high, low, etc.), and give gases if listed
  11. Types of material ejected (lava, ash, volcanic bombs, etc.)
  12. Other events associated with the recent eruptions (earthquakes, mudflows, lahars, nuee ardentes, floods, etc.)
  13. Major hazards to humans living in the area
  14. Speculate on what you would do if you were in charge of volcanic hazard mitigation in the area of your volcano.
  15. References - include the location URL (starts http://) of any pages you consult. INCLUDE REFERENCES WITHIN THE TEXT, for example (Gore, 1995), and a full citation including COMPLETE URL at the end of your paper.

• In order to be certain that you have answered all of the points listed above, you must include a summary sheet (a third page to your report) which lists the answers to each of the questions above, in order by number. Please note that not all of the data will be available for every volcano (such as gas content or temperature).
  If I can locate the information, then I expect you to be able to find it too.

• Please be careful to put things in your own words, and do not plagiarize.

• Type all web references carefully and look for typos and case (upper case vs. lower case).

• See link to Guidelines for Citing Electronic Sources, above.

• Check your syllabus for GUIDE TO WRITING COLLEGE PAPERS FOR GEOLOGY CLASSES!
  This includes having someone proof-read your paper, spell-check and grammar-check, etc. You may go by the Instructional Support Services for assistance.

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This page created by Dr. Pamela J. W. Gore,
Georgia Perimeter College, Clarkston, GA
pgore@gpc.edu
Revised September 18, 1998.
Revised September 17, 2001