Mount Taranaki/Egmont is another (apparently) active stratovolcano in New Zealand, but this one hasn't done anything at all since the early 1800s when it reportedly produced "a moderate ash eruption".1 Most interestingly from our perspective is that we can clearly…

Whakaari/White Island (to give it its official title) is an active andesite stratovolcano 48 km from the east coast of the north island of New Zealand. The volcano reaches 321 m above sea level, but this is actually just the…

All of a sudden we seem to have reached the end of our third annual Volcano Week, and we've posted some fascinating locations so far - however so many of you have sent us excellent suggestions that we now have…

Harwich Redoubt is a perfectly circular redoubt (a type of fort) which was built in 1808 to defend the ancient English seaport of Harwich, Essex, from Napoleonic invasion. If you're thinking the fort looks like it has actually been built…

Here in the deserts of Turkmenistan the satellite imagery has captured an amazing shot of a 200-metre wide churning pool that is spouting a pillar of smoke and flames. These are the Korpedje oil fields, and this is an active…

In 1998, the tiny truck-stop village of Ilakaka in Madagascar was transformed into a bustling mining town, and one of the most dangerous places in the country. The reason for this dramatic change was the discovery of massive sapphire deposits…