Monday, July 12, 2010

Active Taal Volcano [My World Tuesday]


One of the 22 26 active volcanoes in the Philippines, Taal Volcano was showing signs of volcanic activity last month and alert was raised to level 2 in  early June.  Tourists and members of the media were banned from this picturesque island in a crater lake  about  65 kilometers south of Manila as scientists predicted an eruption was highly possible.  12 towns and cities near Taal Volcano were placed under impending state of calamity due to the volcano's restiveness and residents voluntarily evacuated.  As of last week, the number of volcanic quakes has been decreasing, residents have returned to their homes and volcanologists may lower alert level status soon.  I hope Taal Volcano is just having some hiccups and would be quiet again soon.

Volcano Island is called "pulo" by locals and it contains a lake about 2 km across, called Crater Lake.  Within Crater Lake is another small volcanic island called Vulcan Point.  Vulcan Point is often referred to as the world's largest volcanic island within a lake on an island within a lake on an island, namely, Vulcan Point within Crater Lake, on Taal Island within Lake Taal, on the island of Luzon.


view of Lake Taal and Taal Island from the Tagaytay Ridge



25 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think everything that's beautiful is also temperemental. Taal must just be having a bad day, I hope :)

Have a lovely July work week. Raining?

Sylvia K said...

Marvelous captures! And what a gorgeous place! Taal reminds me of Crater Lake in Oregon except that volcano has been inactive for many, many years. But there is a small island like this one in the middle of the lake. Hope your week is off to a great start! Enjoy!

Sylvia

☺lani☺ said...

Beautiful! It's a shame that I never been there... I really wanted to go there, hmmm.. i'll find ways!

magiceye said...

superb vistas!!

Jim said...

So beautiful.

Andrea said...

Hi Luna, you are lucky to get those photos without too much haze. I have been at the ridge many many times and it seems it's always hiding from my camera. Even when it is a hot summer day i still cannot get the crater out of clouds. Grrr. I am from Batangas you know! BTW, which place is that in your header, a very idyllic one, and very well captured.

Wolynski said...

Unusual to see a volcano in water - the lava can't flow to neighboring villages, can it? Gorgeous photos.

Anonymous said...

What magical shots!

Unknown said...

@ ewok, it's been having a tantrum for more than a month now...let's hope it just needs a little attention.:p

yes, it's been raining the whole day and i'm not looking forward to the rush hour traffic tonight.:(

Unknown said...

@ Andrea the header photo is Tinago at the Caramoan peninsula. thanks for visiting.

FilMasons NSW said...

Great photos as well as the article...

Penelope Notes said...

Your pictures of the area look haunting and mysterious. Having a volcano nearby that is “hiccuping” must be a little like waiting for the other shoe to drop … one never knows when something might happen. In BC, we are often reminded that a big earthquake waits around the corner. Let’s hope nothing of note happens and that life remains scenic and calm. :)

EG CameraGirl said...

I didn't realize there were so many active volcanoes in the Philippines. I like the photos!

Maria Berg said...

Very nice photo - we do not have volcanos here but I have seen one in both Italy and New Zealand.
When I was in the Philippine I only stayed for a few night and was at the beach.

Ferris wheel at the Enchanted Kingdom
That is a enchanted photo.
Maria Berg

Barbara said...

Beautiful view, I hope the volcano continues to settle down.

Ebie said...

Love the vistas from the distance! What a great capture. Your photos are front row seats to me, I have not been this so close, but that was years ago.

I hope, like you said, Taal is just having hiccups!

George said...

That is such a pretty, scenic place. I also hope the volcano was only hic-cupping.

maryt/theteach said...

Your header is gorgeous, Miranda! :)

maryt/theteach said...

Just breath-taking, Miranda! :)

Carolyn Ford said...

What a great view of that volcano! Simply beautiful and with attitude these days...exciting and scary at the same time.

dianasfaria.com said...

that is pretty amazing! It looks quite big in this photo & so I imagine it looks even larger in person.
the whole idea of living close to an active volcano is both scary & exciting. Hope it IS just having some "hiccups" !

SandyCarlson said...

Incredible. Beautiful. Thanks.

Eden said...

Great shots. Love to visit there someday.

Unknown said...

beautiful shots of Taal volcano and the lake.

my mom hailed from Talisay, a town very near to Taal.

Oman said...

i think taal is behaved now :)

but oh boy, these are some amazing shots of taal. you truly are getting better and better :)