Parikutin is a formidable volcano grown from a small hole in a corn field

The nature of Mexico is very diverse. There are deserts and rainforests full of life, mountain peaks covered with snow, breathtaking caves, and, of course, volcanoes. Among the many Mexican volcanoes, of particular interest to scientists is Parikutin. This volcano is very young, and in the place where the volcano cone and crater rises today, not so long ago there were corn fields.

The volcano Parikutin has an absolute height of 3,170 meters, although it rises above the surrounding area only 200 meters from a small. Today around it are mountains of ash and almost lifeless landscapes. But only 80 years ago there was a corn field in this place, not far from which the village of Parikutin was located. In February 1943, a local peasant discovered on his field a small hole in the ground from which steam was coming, and a few days later an eruption of a real volcano began on a corn field.

But the emergence of a new volcano was not a big surprise for scientists. The state of Michoacan, where it originated, is part of the Trans-Mexican volcanic belt, which is one of the most active on the planet. There are many active and sleeping volcanoes, which, with their wild temper, cause a lot of trouble to the local population.

A few days after the peasant discovered a strange hole in his corn field, the "baby" Parikutin began to actively erupt. This process was accompanied by tremors, ash and lava emissions, as well as the growth of the volcano itself. A year later, there was no trace of the corn field, and on the spot where a smoking hole was once discovered in the ground, there is a volcano more than 300 meters high.

In just a few years of active eruptions, Parikutin volcano swallowed up a village of the same name, about a dozen other small settlements, and even the town of San Juan Parangaricutiro, from which only a stone church remained. Residents left their homes, which were soon destroyed by lava, and the fields became unsuitable for growing corn. The riot of the volcano Parikutin lasted until 1952, after which he moved from the category of active to the category of asleep.