Page:Awful phenomena of nature -- burning mountains.pdf/2



One of the grandest, and at the same time the most awful spectacles in nature is that of an active volcano, throwing out ashes, pumice stones, and cinders, and pouring forth a torrent of ignited lava, which, like a vast deluge of liquid fire, lays waste the country over which it runs, and buries all the works of human art.

Volcanoes, are found in almost all parts of the world, but most commonly in the neighbourhood of the sea, and especially in small islands; for instance, in Italy, Sicily, Iceland, Japan, the Caribee, Canary, and Cape Verd Islands, and the Azores. There