Mount Damavand

Standing at 8,406 ft, Mount Damavand is Iran's highest peak. It is also the highest point in the Middle East and the highest volcano in Asia. It is known locally as Donbavand, and is located near the southern coast of the Caspian Sea, in Āmol county, Māzandarān, 66 kilometres northeast of Tehran. Despite it's true beauty, Mount Damavand is potentially an active volcano. There are fumaroles near the summit crater emitting sulfur, and were known to be active on July 6, 2007.

Sunset at Mount Damavand. (Source)

Mount Damavand from space. (Source)

Mount Damavand has a special place in Persian mythology and folklore. It is regarded the Mount Olympus of Persian mythology.

Mount Damavand in winter. (Source)

City view with Mount Damavand in the background. (Source)

Due to it volcanic activity, Monut Damavand has some thermal springs with therapeutic qualities. These mineral hot springs are mainly located on the volcano's flanks and at the base. It's most important hot springs are located in Abe Garm Larijan in a village by the name Larijan in the district of Larijan in Lar Valley . The water from this spring is useful in the treatment of chronic wounds and skin diseases. Near these springs there are public baths with small pools for public use.

Mount Damavand during spring. (Source)

Cloud cap of Mount Damavand. (Source)

Mount Damavand reflection. (Source)

Beautiful sunrise of Mount Damavand. (Source)

If you are planning to climb this mountain, there about 16 known routes you can take. There routes has varying difficulties, some of them are very dangerous and requires rock climbing.

In the foot of Mount Damavand. (Source)

The best major settlement for mountain climbers is the new Iranian Mountain Federation Camp in Polour village, located on the south of the mountain. The most popular route is the Southern Route which has step stamps and also a camp midway called Bargah Sevom Camp/Shelter at about 13,845 ft. The longest route is the Northeastern and it takes two whole days to reach the summit while the western route is famous for its sunset view.

Mount Vesuvius, One of World's Most Dangerous Volcano

Mount Vesuvius is a stratovolcano located in the east of Naples, Italy. It is the only volcano on the European mainland to have erupted within the last hundred years. It is considered as one of world's most dangerous volcano because of the population of 3,000,000 people living nearby.

Mount Vesuvius with it's crater seen from a plane. (Source)

The most famous eruption of Mount Vesuvius happened in AD 79 that led to the destruction of the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum and the death of 10,000 to 25,000 people.

Mount Vesuvius seen from City of Pompeii which was destroyed in the eruption of AD 79. (Source)

The summit of Mount Vesuvius is open to visitors and tourists and there is a small network of paths around the mountain that are maintained by the park authorities on weekends. There is also an access by road to within 200 metres (660 ft) of the summit, but thereafter access is on foot only. There is a spiral walkway around the mountain from the road to the crater.

Inside the Mount Vesuvius crater where tourists can take a pictures. (Source)

The Mount Vesuvius area it is the most densely populated volcanic region in the world. The area around it was officially declared a national park on June 1995.

Mount Vesuvius seen from Italian City of Napoli. (Source)

Ngorongoro Crater, World's Largest Unbroken Caldera

Called the eighth wonder of the world, Ngorongoro Crater is the world's largest unbroken and unflooded volcanic caldera in the Eastern (Great) Rift Valley, northern Tanzania, Africa. It lies 75 miles west of the town of Arusha. The crater measures between 10 and 12 miles across and has an area of 102 square miles. It's rim is heavily forested and rises 2,000 feet above the caldera’s floor to an elevation of 7,500 feet. It is included within a UNESCO World Heritage site designated in 1979.

Panoramic view of the Ngorongoro Crater (Source)

When it was active some 2.5 million years ago, Ngorongoro volcano was one of the world's tallest mountains. After a major eruption, it's volcanic cone collapsed inward leaving the present vast, unbroken caldera as its chief remnant and a flat plain area.

Ngorongoro Crater Map (Source)

The Ngorongoro Crater floor is predominantly open grassland and is haven to a diverse array of animals including elephants, black rhinoceroses, leopards, buffalo, zebras, warthogs, wildebeests, Grant’s and Thomson’s gazelles, and the densest population of lions in the world.

Female lion on a hunt for zebra

Lake Magadi, a shallow soda lake ringed by extinct volcanoes, is renowned as a habitat for great flocks of pink flamingos.

Panoramic view of the Ngorongoro Crater (Source)

The local Masai people also graze their livestock in the crater. Some villagers don't like to be taken pictures, others ask money from tourist in exchange of pictures.

Masai family in Ngorongoro (Source)

When a lodge was built on its rim in the 1930s, large numbers of tourists began visiting the caldera. Since the region’s incorporation into the Ngorongoro Conservation Area in 1959, additional lodges have been built.

Tourists taking pictures from Ngorongoro Wildlife Lodge(Source)

Mount Fuji, Japan's Highest Mountain

At 3,776 meters (12,388 ft), Mount Fuji is Japan's Highest Mountain. It stands on the border between Yamanashi and Shizuoka Prefectures and can be seen from Tokyo and Yokohama on clear days. It is located near the Pacific coast of central Honshū. There are three small cities surrounding it: Gotemba (south), Fujiyoshida (north) and Fujinomiya (southwest).

Google Map View of Mount Fuji (Source)

Although it's last eruption was in 1708, Mount Fuji is an active stratovolcano volcano. This nearly perfectly shaped volcano has been worshiped as a sacred mountain and experienced big popularity among artists, common people and tourists.

Mount Fuji capped wit snow (Source)

Mount Fuji is surrounded by five lakes: Lake Kawaguchi, Lake Yamanaka, Lake Sai, Lake Motosu and Lake Shoji. The climate is very cold due to the altitude and the cone is covered by snow for several months of the year. The lowest recorded temperature is −38.0 °C while on June 2008 the highest temperature was recorded at 17.8 °C.

Mount Fuji from Osezaki beach (Source)

Mount Fuji view from an airplane (Source)

Mount Fuji view from an airplane (Source)

Mayon Volcano, Perfect Cone-shaped Volcano

Mayon Volcano is the most active volcano in the Philippines. It is located in Legazpi City in the province of Albay. This 2,463 metres volcano is very popular because of it's near perfect cone shape. It was a candidate of the New Seven Wonders of the World and is consider as the world's most perfectly formed volcano.

Source: wikipedia.org