The Azores are home to green volcanic mountains and picturesque towns-attributes noted by one of 522 experts who helped judge 111 islands for National Geographic Traveler magazine.

Around the same time, a massive volcanic eruption in the Wrangell Mountains in Alaska occurred, blanketing the area in a layer of ash, up to a foot deep, called the White River tephra.

Chile is a country of giant volcanic peaks in the Andes Mountains, and ancient forests in the South American country's Lake District.