好英语网热烘烘的美景：世界最美的火山
With fiery molten channels that stretch far below the surface, volcanoes connect us to the very core of the Earth. Active or dormant – they resonate with an energy and beauty beyond that of mere mountains.
火山底下的岩浆管道深入地底，把我们与地球的内核连接起来。不论是活火山，还是休眠火山，它们是力与美的结合，远胜于普通的山峦。
Their violent origins also tend to create stunning natural landscapes that attract sightseers from around the world. To find the hot spots worth seeing, we turned to question-and-answer community Quora.com, asking “What are the most beautiful volcanos in the world?”
由于火山是经过猛烈的喷发过程形成的，所以往往造就了引人入胜的自然景观。为了寻找值得游览的热门景点，我们在问答社区Quora.com上发帖寻求帮助，“世界上最美的火山在哪里？”
Santorini, Greece
希腊圣托里尼（Santorini）
Best known for the stark white-painted buildings that cling to its multi-coloured cliffs, this Greek island is the remnant of a volcanic caldera, formed around 1600BC when one of the largest eruptions in recorded history wiped out most of the island, including some of the original settlements.
希腊圣托里尼岛最负盛名的是它坐落在色彩绚丽的悬崖下面的纯白色建筑。据历史记载，在大约公元前1600年，一次巨大的火山喷发后，整个岛连同岛上的原住民村落几乎彻底被毁，留下的火山臼就是现在的圣托里尼岛。
Today, Santorini attracts visitors from around the world who are eager to admire what’s left. “To feel how majestic it is, you have to sail inside [the caldera] and stand at a balcony on the edge of the cliffs at sunset,” said Achilleas Vortselas.
现今，圣托里尼吸引着全世界的观光客来这里瞻仰火山喷发的遗迹，“只有坐船进来[进入火山臼]，站在悬崖边的露台上欣赏日落，你才能感受到它的壮美。”阿喀琉斯·沃特萨莱斯（Achilleas Vortselas）说。
In particular, visitors should seek out the uninhabited island of Nea Kameni, located in the centre of Santorini’s caldera. “Nea Kameni itself is a kind of ugly, black-brown blob in the centre of a picturesque, truly gorgeous caldera,” Smitha Prasadh said. “But when you hike around, it has its own beauty. Sloped pits from which ancient and recent eruptions sprang forth – [it is] very different from the craters of more ‘traditional’ volcanoes.”
特别值得一看的是位于圣托里尼火山臼中央的新卡美尼岛（Nea Kameni）。“新卡美尼岛在壮丽的火山臼的中央，就其本身而言，并不好看，只是一块黑棕色的小岛，” 史密莎·普拉萨德（Smitha Prasadh）说，“但是假如上岛远足，你就能发现该岛有其美丽之处。古代和近代的火山喷发在这里形成了带有坡度的坑洞——它和‘传统意义上’的火山口很不一样。”
马荣火山陡峭的火山锥是由多层岩浆形成
Mount Mayon, the Philippines
菲律宾马荣火山（Mayon）
Located about 450km southeast of Manila on the island of Luzon, Mount Mayon is the most active volcano in the Philippines; a September 2014 eruption forced thousands to flee the area. Mayon is also a stratovolcano – a steep cone built from many layers of lava flows – that’s prized for its incredible symmetry.
吕宋岛（Luzon）上位于首都马尼拉东南450公里的的马荣火山是菲律宾最活跃的火山；2014年9月的火山喷发让数以千计的居民被迫逃离该区。马荣火山属于层状火山。由多层岩浆形成的陡峭的火山锥以其难以置信的对称形状而闻名。
“The perfect hyperbolic shape of Mayon in the Philippines underlines [its] threatening posture,” Vortselas said. “The ash and lava flows are just the cherry on top.”
“菲律宾马荣火山完美的双曲线形状增强了它逼人的气势。”沃特萨莱斯说，“火山灰流和熔岩流也增加了火山吸引人的地方。”
Those who hike the volcano are rewarded with views of the towns in the Albay province and the Pacific Ocean. But even those who prefer the view from afar have a historical vantage point at the Cagsawa Ruins, once an 18th Century Franciscan church that was destroyed by an 1814 eruption. The stone tower still remains, serving as the human-built counterpart to the natural wonder in the distance.
徒步登山者可以俯瞰阿尔拜省（Albay）和太平洋。即使是喜欢远观火山的游客也可以前往卡格萨瓦遗址（Cagsawa Ruins）。这里在18世纪曾经是一所圣方济各修会的教堂，但在1814年的火山喷发中被毁。石塔保存至今。这座建筑与远处的自然奇观相映成趣。
Mount Kilimanjaro and Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania
坦桑尼亚乞力马扎罗山（Kilimanjaro）和恩戈罗恩戈罗火山口（Ngorongoro Crater）
Adventure-seekers from all over the globe head to the border of Tanzania and Kenya to tackle Kilimanjaro, Africa’s tallest mountain. Fewer know that Kili is also the continent’s tallest volcano, unique in the fact that it has three volcanic cones While the Mawenzi and Shira cones are extinct, the highest one, Kibo (on which the highest Uhuru Peak sits), is still active and lets off occasional steam and gases.
世界各地的探险者都会前往坦桑尼亚和肯尼亚的边境，挑战非洲最高的山——乞力马扎罗山。不过并不是所有人都知道，这座山也是非洲最高的火山。它的特殊之处是它有三个火山锥。马文兹（Mawenzi）和希拉（Shira）火山锥已经休眠，但是最高的基博火山（Kibo）（最高峰乌呼鲁（Uhuru）正是位于此山之上）仍然是活火山，山顶常常冒出蒸汽和各种气体。
Those keen to climb to Kilimanjaro’s dizzying 5,895m summit must be prepared for a dramatic change in temperature, said Julien Vaché. “As you walk, you go from 35C [in the] jungle to -15C on top of Uhuru, its highest peak.”
渴望攀登乌呼鲁5898米高峰的探险者必须准备好经历急剧变化的气温。茱莉安·瓦谢（Julien Vaché）说：“登山过程中，你在热带雨林时，气温是35摄氏度，但在最高峰乌呼鲁，气温会下降到零下15摄氏度。”
About 200km west of Kilimanjaro, Ngorongoro Crater is a former volcano that is thought to have once rivalled Kilimanjaro in height, estimated to have been 4500-4800m tall until it collapsed on itself. Today, at 22.5km in diameter and 610m deep, Ngorongoro is the largest crater on earth, creating a unique environment for local wildlife. “Waterfalls coming down the caldera irrigate green pastures and fill a lake at the bottom full of flamingos and a huge fauna on its shores: lion, hippopotamus, buffalos, zebras, gnus, rhinoceros,” Vaché said.
恩戈罗恩戈罗火山口位于乞力马扎罗山以西约200公里，以前也是一座火山，而且被认为与乞力马扎罗山的高度可匹敌，在崩塌前估计有4500至4800米高。现今，恩戈罗恩戈罗火山口直径22.5公里，深610米，是世界上最大的火山口。它为当地的野生动植物创造了特殊的环境。“从火山口上方一泻而下的瀑布浇灌了绿地，并在火山口底部形成了一个湖泊，岸边生活着大量的火烈鸟和其他动物：狮子、河马、水牛、斑马、角马和犀牛”。瓦谢说道。
Mount Kelimutu, Indonesia
印度尼西亚克里穆图火山（Kelimutu）
Kelimutu’s three mysterious crater lakes attract both scientists and tourists to the island of Flores in Indonesia’s East Nusa Tenggara province. “One is emerald green, another dark red, and the third pitch black,” Vaché explained. Scientists say the colours come from the chemical reaction that occurs when the volcanic gases meet the lake’s minerals.
克里穆图的三大神秘火山湖吸引科学家和游客来到印度尼西亚东努沙登加拉省（East Nusa Tenggara）的佛罗勒斯岛（the island of Flores）。“一个湖是祖母石绿、一个是深红色，而另一个是墨黑色。” 瓦谢解释道。科学家称，湖水的颜色是火山气体遇到湖中矿物质发生化学反应而形成的。
Nearby residents have a different take. “Locals believe that the lakes are the resting place of departed souls and change colour abruptly based on the flow of souls,” Sunni Mewati said. Despite scientific explanations of the colours, “the eeriness surrounding the lakes as a reservoir of souls remains” he added.
不过，附近的居民持不同的看法。“当地人相信湖是逝去的人的灵魂的安息之所，因为灵魂的不同而呈现不同的颜色。”苏尼·梅瓦提（Sunni Mewati）说。虽然科学已解释了不同色彩的成因，“但认为湖中存在灵魂的想法仍然存在。”他补充道。
Kilauea and Mauna Kea, Hawaii
夏威夷基拉韦厄火山（Kilauea）和冒纳凯阿火山（Mauna Kea）
Hawaii’s volcanoes are known for their active eruptions and otherworldly landscapes. The youngest volcano in Hawaii, Kilauea has been erupting continuously since 1983, “so much so that the lava falls straight into the sea, creating fantastic forms of black rocks and insane smoke clouds”, Vaché said.
夏威夷的火山以喷发频繁和世外桃源般的景观著称。基拉韦厄火山是夏威夷最年轻的火山，自1983年至今持续喷发，“喷发非常剧烈，以至于岩浆直接落入海中，产生了形状奇特的黑色岩石和惊人的火山烟雾。” 瓦谢说道。
At the other end of the spectrum, Mauna Kea is around one million years old. It sits dormant, still impressing with its sheer size, rising 4,205m from the sea. “Mauna Kea in Hawaii is both incredibly beautiful and home to secret treasures, including a sacred frozen lake near the summit accessible only by [a six-mile, 10-hour round trip] hike,” said Lesly Simmons. “You can find snow in the winter and almost zero crowds. We ran into only one other couple hiking from the base to the summit when we reached Lake Waiau.”
与基拉韦厄火山截然相反，冒纳凯阿火山已有约100万年的历史。虽然它已休眠，但是海拔4205米的山体规模仍然让人惊叹。“夏威夷的冒纳凯阿火山既是一座美得难以置信的山，又是一座充满神秘珍宝的山，山顶有一片神圣的冰湖，唯一的到达该地的方法是徒步前往[往返一次需要步行10小时，路程长达六英里]。” 莱斯莉·西蒙斯（Lesly Simmons）说。“冬天这里可以看到雪，几乎见不到大群的人。我们从基地走到山顶，直到我们到达怀奥湖（Lake Waiau），我们才见到了另外两个一起徒步的人。”
Mount Fuji, Japan
日本富士山
Perhaps the world’s most famous symmetrical stratovolcano is Japan’s Mount Fuji, which has served as the muse for many artistic creations through the centuries. “[It’s] the national symbol of Japan: snow-capped, looming in the distance, cherry blossoms in the forefront,” Vaché said. Not only is the mountain itself beautiful and mysterious, but the Aokigahara forest on the northwest base of the mountain also inspires the imagination, as many local folktales describe the demons and goblins that haunt within. At least the mountain itself remains a safe haven – the low risk active volcano hasn’t erupted since 1707.
日本的富士山可能是世界上最有名的对称的层状火山，千百年来成为众多艺术创作的灵感。“它是日本的象征：山峰积雪，远眺巍峨陡峭，近处又能看到樱花盛开。” 瓦谢说道。除了美丽而神秘的富士山以外，位于富士山西北的青木原森林也唤起了人们的想象力，当地很多民间传说描述了森林中的鬼怪和哥布林。不过，富士山本身是安全的避险地——富士山1707年以后再未喷发过，是一座低风险的活火山。