Philippines' Mayon volcano spews lava down its slopes in gentle eruption putting thousands on alert

• Recently, around 13,000 people have been evacuated from the northeast Philippines as the country's most famous volcano, Mayon, continued to ooze lava.

Mayon Volcano

• It is an active volcano in southeastern Luzon, Philippines.
• Its name is derived from the local word for beautiful lady, daragang Mayon.
• It is called the world’s most perfect volcanic cone because of the symmetry of its shape.
• It lies in the Pacific Ring of Fire region, a major area in the basin of the Pacific Ocean where a large number of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur.

Pacific Ring of Fire

• It also known as the Circum-Pacific Beltis a path along the Pacific Ocean characterized by active volcanoes and frequent earthquakes.
• Its length is approximately 40,000 kilometres.
• It traces boundaries between several tectonic plates—including the Pacific, Juan de Fuca, Cocos, Indian-Australian, Nazca, North American, and Philippine Plates.

What is a volcano?

• It is an opening on the surface of a planet that allows material warmer than its surroundings to escape from its interior.
• When this material escapes, it causes an eruption which can be explosive in nature.