Volcanoes & Extreme Landscapes (Globe Trekker)

Volcanoes have always both fascinated and frightened mankind. Often causing massive loss of life they've been worshipped as gods and feared as homes for the devil. They emit huge amounts of poison gas and ash yet provide some of the most fertile land on Earth. Our guides explore the world's most spectacular volcanoes travelling from the heart of Europe across the Atlantic and Caribbean to the deadly Pacific Ring of Fire. In Europe visit the Italian island of Stromboli which has been continually erupting for at least a thousand years then travel to the ancient Roman city of Pompeii which was destroyed in 79AD by an eruption of the nearby volcano Vesuvius. Head to the Greek island of Santorini where 1500 years before the demise of Pompeii a cataclysmic eruption destroyed local Minoan cities and caused a vast tsunami to surge across the Mediterranean. Finally climb to the summit of Mount Saint Helens in the United States and meets scientists and survivors of the massive eruption here in 1980 - casualties were fortunately few with just 57 killed as the volcano is located in a sparsely populated area.