Volcano World Cup – Group A

Remember to cast your vote for Group A at the bottom of this post!

Pool A

Mexico – 76/30/9/5 – Popocatépetl

Mexico has a lot of volcanoes. Some of there are very famous, like Popocatépetl, the volcano that likely can be seen by players and fans alike in Mexico City. Some have produced climate-alterating massive eruptions like El Chichón. Others have had periods this century of near constant activity like Colima. My favorites include Parícutin, the volcano that popped up in a farm field during the 1940s and the oddball Socorro Island in the Pacific Ocean. In summary, Mexico is a land of volcanic variety.

South Africa – 2/2/1/1

There are only two potentially active volcanoes in South Africa – Marion Island and Prince Edward Island (not that one). They are both ~1700 kilometers south of the country in the middle of the ocean. The sum total of people living within 100 kilometers of these 2 volcanoes is … zero. However, there is evidence of past volcanism and it is this past volcanism that gave the country some of its most famous resources. The diamonds found at the Kimberley Mine and others come from kimberlite eruptions (hence the name) where material from possibly as far as 100 kilometers down came blasting to the surface. That material contained pieces of the Earth’s mantle including diamonds. The eruptions happened ~84 million years ago but the diamonds are between 1-3 billion years old, so they are tapping much older mantle material.

South Korea – 3/2/0/0

Much like South Africa, South Korea has only 2 volcanoes that have erupted in the past ~11,000 years. They are also both off the mainland of the country, one 80 kilometers to the south (Halla) and one ~150 kilometers to the east (Ulleungdo). What sets them apart is that people do actually live near them. A little over 9,200 people live within 100 kilometers of Ulleungdo while over half a million live within 100 kilometers of Halla. The former produced a VEI 6 eruption around 8,750 BCE while the latter erupted as recently as the 11^th century.

Czechia – 2/0/0/0

Ok, so, the Czechia is devoid of potentially active volcanism. I’m sorry. You might be surprised to learn that is does have volcanoes that, geologically speaking, aren’t that old. The Bruntál Volcanic Field is only ~0.5-1 million years old. Železná Hůrka in eastern Czechia is also a volcanic area that is ~0.3-0.5 million years old as well. So, you don’t need to look back that far to see eruptions in this central European nation.