Teachers Guide to Stratovolcanoes of the World
Questions to Ponder

Nevado del Ruiz, Colombia:
           Facts | Story | Feature | Questions

Questions to Ponder and Web Resources

What precautions could have been taken to save lives at Amero? If you were in charge of monitoring a stratovolcano with snow capped summit, what steps would you recommend?

Based on information presented here, how fast did the mud flow travel that engulfed Amero? Could you outrun the mudflow? If not, what is the best means of escaping a mudflow (hint: what do you do in case of flash flood or tsunami)?

Make a meter stick and measure how deep 40 meters is. How many meters high is the ceiling? Discuss the metric system and its use throughout the world.

If more than 20x10⁸ m³ of mud buried 4x10⁸ m² of lowland around Ruiz, how deep was the mud?

Visit the U.S. Geological Survey's Volcano Observatory website and learn more about Nevado del Ruiz