PHOTOS: Chile Volcano Erupts With Ash and Lightning

PHOTOS: Chile Volcano Erupts With Ash, Lava, Lightning
    1 of 7   Next >>
May 6, 2008After 9,000 years of silence, Chile's Chaitin volcano (pictured on May 3) is erupting with lava, ashand lightning (full story).

Since the volcano awoke on May 2, it has continued erupting intermittently, blanketing the area in ash and forcing more than 4,000 people to flee.

(Related photos: "Chile Volcano Threatens Animals, Farms.")

The mingling of lightning and ash seen above may be a "dirty thunderstorm."

The little-understood storms may be sparked when rock fragments, ash, and ice particles in the plume collide to produce static chargesjust as ice particles collide to create charge in regular thunderstorms. (More: "Volcanic Lightning Sparked by 'Dirty Thunderstorms,' Study Finds" [February, 2, 2007].)

 More Photos in the News
 Today's Top 15 Most Popular Stories
 Free Email Newsletter: "Focus on Photography"
—Photograph by Carlos Gutierrez/UPI/Landov
 

EMAIL NEWSLETTER Photos and News of the Week

Get the top photos and news of the week from National Geographic News, plus occasional breaking-news alerts.

See Sample >>
Please enter a valid email address
Privacy Policy
NEWS FEEDS    After installing a news reader, click on this icon to download National Geographic News's XML/RSS feed. After installing a news reader, click on this icon to download National Geographic News's XML/RSS feed.

Get our news delivered directly to your desktop—free.
How to Use XML or RSS




 

What's Your Green Idea?

You could win $20,000 to put it into action. Take part in the Green Effect, a new initiative from SunChips and National Geographic to inspire people to take small steps for big change.