Calderas - Worlds Largest

Calderas - Worlds Largest Calderas are large craters formed by volcanic explosions or by unsupported surface rock collapsing into empty magma chambers beneath the ground. They sometimes are referred to as supervolcanoes. One way to understand calderas is to think of them as reverse volcanoes. Volcanic eruptions often will be the cause of magma chambers being left empty and leaving  the volcano above unsupported. This can cause the ground above, sometimes an entire volcano, to collapse into the empty chamber. Yellowstone Park Yellowstone Park is perhaps the most well-known caldera in the United States, drawing millions of tourists every year. According to Yellowstones website, the supervolcano was the site of massive eruptions 2.1 million years ago, 1.2 million years ago, and 640,000 years ago. Those eruptions were, respectively, 6,000 times, 70 times, and 2,500 times more powerful than the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens in Washington. Explosive Force What today is known as Lake Toba in Indonesia is the result of perhaps the greatest volcanic eruption since the dawn of early man. Approximately 74,000 years ago, Mount Tobas eruption produced about 2,500 times more volcanic ash than Mount St. Helens. This led to a volcanic winter that had a devastating effect on the entire human population  of the time. The volcanic winter lasted six years and led to a 1,000-year-long ice age, according to research, and the world population was reduced to about 10,000 adults. Potential Modern Impact Research into how a massive eruption would impact the world day shows the effects to be potentially devastating. One study focusing on Yellowstone suggests another eruption comparable in size to the three biggest ones of the past 2.1 million  years would kill 87,000 people instantly. The volume of ash would be enough to collapse rooftops in states surrounding the park. Everything within about 60 miles would be destroyed, most of the western United States would be covered in about 4 feet of ash, and an ash cloud would spread across the entire planet, casting it in shadow for days. The impact on vegetation could lead to food shortages across the planet. Visiting the Largest Calderas on the Planet Yellowstone is just one of many calderas throughout the world. Like Yellowstone, many of the others can be interesting and fascinating places to visit and to study. Below is a list of the worlds largest calderas: Caldera name Country Location Size(km) Mostrecenteruption La Pacana Chile 23.10 S67.25 W 60 x 35 Pliocene PastosGrandes Bolivia 21.45 S67.51 W 50 x 40 8.3 Ma Kari Kari Bolivia 19.43 S65.38 W 30 Unknown Cerro Galan Argentina 25.57 S65.57 W 32 2.5 Ma Awasa Ethiopia 7.18 N38.48 E 40 x 30 Unknown Toba Indonesia 2.60 N98.80 E 100 x 35 74 ka Tondano Indonesia 1.25 N124.85 E 30 x 20 Quaternary Maroa/Whakamaru NewZealand 38.55 S176.05 E 40 x 30 500 ka Taupo NewZealand 38.78 S176.12 E 35 1,800 yr Yellowstone USA-WY 44.58 N110.53 W 85 x 45 630 ka La Garita USA-CO 37.85 N106.93 W 75 x 35 27.8 Ma Emory USA-NM 32.8 N107.7 W 55 x 25 33 Ma Bursum USA-NM 33.3 N108.5 W 40 x 30 28-29 Ma Longridge(McDermitt) USA-OR 42.0 N117.7 W 33 ~16 Ma Socorro USA-NM 33.96 N107.10 W 35 x 25 33 Ma TimberMountain USA-NV 37 N116.5 W 30 x 25 11.6 Ma ChinatiMountains USA-TX 29.9 N104.5 W 30 x 20 32-33 Ma Long Valley USA-CA 37.70 N118.87 W 32 x 17 50 ka greater MalySemiachik/Pirog Russia 54.11 N159.65 E 50 ~50 ka greater BolshoiSemiachik Russia 54.5 N160.00 E 48 x 40 ~50 ka greaterIchinsky Russia 55.7 N157.75 E 44 x 40 ~50 ka greaterPauzhetka Russia 51 N157 E ~40 300 ka greaterKsudach Russia 51.8 N157.54 E ~35 ~50 ka Source: Cambridge Volcanology Group  caldera database

Fellowship Opportunities for Writers in Berlin

Fellowship Opportunities for Writers in Berlin Berlin has long been known for its thriving international arts and literary communities. It is equally known for the support that exists for writers and artists in the city. Centrally located within Europe, it is an easy train ride or flight to other major cultural destination cities, including Barcelona, Florence, Paris, and Prague, and serves as a font of inspiration for creative people from all artistic walks of life. Many are familiar with writers such as Christopher Isherwood, Franz Kafka, and Robert Walser, who found inspiration for their stories in Berlin, and musician David Bowie, who recorded three albums while living in the city. Since moving to Berlin in July 2013, I have immersed myself in the local literary community and have found the following resources for international writers seeking short-term residencies here. American Academy in Berlin americanacademy.de/ Located in the lakeside Hans Arnold Center in the Wansee neighborhood of Berlin, the American Academy offers annual Berlin Prize fellowships to scholars, writers, and artists who represent the highest standards of excellence in their fields. Past Fellows include poets Susan Howe, Tom Sleigh, and C.K. Williams, and novelists Kiran Desai, Jonathan Safran Foer, and Ha Jin. The upcoming class of Fellows for 2014-2015 includes writers Mary Jo Bang, Tom Drury, and Adam Ross. Fellows commit to spend one academic semester (fall or spring) at the Academy, and the prize includes a monthly stipend, partial board, and a residence at the Center in Wansee. The deadline for applications for 2015-2016 is September 29, 2014. Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst/German Academic Exchange Service DAAD North America daad.org The Artists-in-Berlin Program (Berliner Kà ¼nstlerprogramm) of the German Academic Exchange Service (commonly referred to as DAAD) provides about 20 grants to international artists in the fields of visual arts, literature, music, and film, for an approximately one-year stay in Berlin. The grant includes a monthly stipend, an apartment, workspace (studio), and funds for projects. U.S. writers who spent a year in Berlin through the program include Eugene Ostashevsky, Robert Creeley, and Rosmarie and Keith Waldrop. The deadline for applications to the program is January 1, 2015. ZK/U-Zentrum fà ¼r Kunst und Urbanistik zku-berlin.org/ The ZK/U-Zentrum fà ¼r Kunst und Urbanistik (Center for Art and Urbanistics) provides residencies of two to eight months for artists, scholars, and practitioners (curators, activists, autodidacts, etc.) interested in cross-disciplinary theory and practice dealing with the city. Recent participants include poet Stephen Motika and novelist Alan Cunningham. For individual fellows selected for the program, depending on the studio-apartment and the length of the stay, costs can be between 500 and 800 Euros per month. ZK/U will work with selected fellows in support of efforts to obtain funding to cover the cost through external grants. The deadline for applications for the Autumn-Winter 2014-2015 residency is July 27, 2014. American poets who wish to spend time in Berlin, Germany (or other cities abroad), can also consider applying for the competitive Amy Lowell Traveling Scholarship (amylowell.org/), which awards one scholarship of approximately $54,000 to an American poet who agrees to spend the entire year abroad. The deadline for applications for the scholarship is October 15, 2014. Inspiration can be found everywhere. But sometimes, the opportunity to travel can bring you out of a rut and lead your writing in unexpected, and exciting, directions.