What are some benefits of volcanic eruptions?
Over geologic time, volcanic eruptions and related processes have directly and indirectly benefited mankind:
- Volcanic materials ultimately break down and weather to form some of the most fertile soils on Earth, cultivation of which has produced abundant food and fostered civilizations.
- The internal heat associated with young volcanic systems has been harnessed to produce geothermal energy.
- Most of the metallic minerals mined in the world--such as copper, gold, silver, lead, and zinc--are associated with magmas found deep within the roots of extinct volcanoes.
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Native Gold
A sample of native gold. Gold has been treasured since ancient times for its beauty and permanence. Most of the gold that is fabricated today goes into the manufacture of jewelry, but it also performs critical functions in computers, communications equipment, spacecraft, jet aircraft engines, and a host of other products. Read more about gold
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OGRL soil samples
A pair of hands holding a soil sample above the ground that is covered in clovers.
Ash Coating from Rabaul Volcanic Eruption
Ash buries cars and buildings after the 1984 eruption of Rabaul, Papua New Guinea. Credit: USGS
Gold Veins
Gold-bearing quartz veins from the Blue Ribbon Mine, Alaska. Credit: AlaskaMining at English Wikipedia, CC BY 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=44555449
Copper
Native copper. The USGS studies processes that form copper deposits and reports global production and consumption.
Geothermal Plant
A geothermal power plant at The Geysers near Santa Rosa, California. The USGS researches and assesses geothermal resources.
Gold Pans and Placer Gold
Gold Pans and Placer Gold - image by Max Flanery, California Geological Survey.
Giant ash cloud from the eruption of Mount Pinatubo, 1991
Giant ash cloud from the eruption of Mount Pinatubo, 1991 towering above farms and agricultural lands in the Philippines.
Silver metal specimen
Silver. Pen for scale. Mineral collection of Brigham Young University Department of Geology, Provo, Utah. Photograph by Andrew Silver. BYU index 1-4112b, Ag.