Volcanoes

The most common type of volcano is composite with 857 volcanoes. This is followed by 184 shield volcanoes and 238 cinder volcanoes. The volcanoes are generally located near plate boundaries. The names of tectonic plates that are found in this region of Canada are the North American Plate and the Pacific Plate.

If Mount Garibaldi erupts and covers the same distance as Mount Saint Helens did (ash from the eruption reached communities approximately 400 km away) a lot of things would be destroyed and people would die because it is a populated place with people living nearby.

A lot of bad things can happen when a volcano occurs. Many people usually die or get injured and lots of nature disappears due to the hot lava destroying everything in its path. As well, on the occasion of an eruption near a large body water, it is possible for a tsunami to occur. Pollution is a problem as well. The air fills with ash which people ultimately have to breath in. This is obviously a safety hazard to peoples' heath.

Volcanic activity has created some of the most fertile regions on the earth. As well, the ash from the volcanoes releases valuable nutrients that will make the soil more fertile. Before Pompeii got buried under meters of ash after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, people wanted to live there because of this. The eruptions that the volcano had went though in the past had made the soil rich and very fertile which made good resources for anyone who lived around. This is why people chose to live so close to this volcano. However, if a volcano does occur, this process of making a fertile region will take a long time to develop and repair itself.

Adding onto this, volcanic rocks that come out of volcanoes contain valuable ore such as copper, lead, zinc, gold, and silver. As well, crushed lava rocks, pumice, cinders, and other eruptive products are sources of great materials for the road-building, constructing, manufacturing, and landscaping industries.