I received this postcard from the Philippines! This is a look at Taal Volcano, located in Batangas province. Batangas is found in Luzon, the largest and northernmost of the islands. This is a bit of a crude comparison but Luzon’s shape reminds me of the profile of the alien from the “Alien” series (or something to that effect). That being said, Batangas is part of Alien’s jaw. Now enough movie references – let’s talk about Taal Volcano! While it might be “Taal”, it’s actually the smallest volcano in the country, and yet it is the second-most active. It’s already had a few dozen eruptions, including one that took place in January of this year. Let’s learn a bit about volcanoes, shall we? Lemme start by saying that in the middle of Taal Volcano’s crater is a lake (known as Lake Taal). The January 2020 eruption was a phreatomagmatic eruption, which happens as a result of magma from underneath the lake rising up and reacting with the water. The result? A huge emission of ash into the air. It was even said that the ash from the most recent eruption was wet due to it being mixed with the lake water. This eruption caused quite a bit of trouble: evacuation orders, flight cancellations, school suspensions, etc. Unfortunately while we can analyze the behavior of the volcano, it remains rather unpredictable. I don’t envy those who’ve been caught up in Taal Volcano’s wrath, but gosh it is fascinating to learn about. Thank you bunches for sending me this cool postcard!
