Mayon History

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Mayon Volcano (a.k.a. Mount Mayon) is an active stratovolcano in the province of Albay, in the Bicol Region, on the island of Luzon, in the Philippines.

Renowned as the "Perfect Cone" because of its almost perfectly conical shape,

Mayon has had forty-seven eruptions in recorded history.[3] The first recorded eruption was in 1616, the last major eruption ceased on 1 October 2006, although a devastating lahar followed on 30 November 2006.

Mayon Volcano on September 23, 1984The most destructive eruption of Mayon occurred on February 1, 1814. Lava flowed but not as much compared to the 1766 eruption. Instead, the volcano was belching dark ash and eventually bombarding the town with tephra that buried the town of Cagsawa—only the bell tower of the town's church remained above the new surface. Trees were burned; rivers were certainly damaged. Proximate areas were also devastated by the eruption with ash accumulating to 9 m (30 ft) in depth. 2,200 Albay locals perished in what is considered to be the most lethal eruption in Mayon's history.[1]

Mayon Volcano's longest uninterrupted eruption occurred on June 23, 1897 which lasted for seven days of raining fire. Lava once again flowed down to civilization. Seven miles eastward, the village of Bacacay was buried 15 m (50 ft) beneath the lava. In Libog, 100 people were declared dead—incinerated by steam and falling debris or hot rocks. Other villages like San Roque, Misericordia and Santo NiƱo became deathtraps. Ash was carried in black clouds as far as 160 km (100 mi) from the catastrophic event. More than 400 persons were killed.[1]

Samuel Kneeland, a professor and a geologist had observed the volcanic activity five months before the eruption. Kneeland was amazed with the beauty of Mayon:

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