Skip to main content
Back to map
CompareShow on map

Australia · Stratovolcano

Mawson Peak

Heard

Type
Stratovolcano
Elevation
2745m
Last eruption
2026
Mawson Peak
Photo: NOAA · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Type
Stratovolcano
Country
Australia
Region
Somalian & Antarctic / Kerguelen Hotspot Volcano Group
Elevation
2745m
Coordinates
-53.106, 73.513
Last eruption
2026
Tectonic setting
Intraplate / Oceanic crust (< 15 km)
Landform
Composite
Major rock type
Trachybasalt / Tephrite basanite

Geological summary

Heard Island on the Kerguelen Plateau in the southern Indian Ocean consists primarily of the emergent portion of two volcanic structures.

Excerpt from the Global Volcanism Program, Smithsonian Institution · Read the full summary on GVP →

From Wikipedia

Mawson Peak is an active volcanic summit of the Big Ben volcanic massif on Heard Island, an Australian external territory in the Indian Ocean. With an elevation of 2,745 metres (9,006 ft), it is higher than any peak on the Australian mainland and, among Australian mountains, is surpassed only by mountains in the Australian Antarctic Territory. Mawson Peak and other volcanic features on Heard and McDonald Islands are Australia's only active volcanoes. The peak is named after the Australian Antarctic explorer Douglas Mawson.

Wikipedia · CC BY-SA · Read full article →

Eruption history

13 recordedGlossary

Record summary

Confirmed eruptions
11
Uncertain eruptions
2
Span of confirmed record
1910 – 2026
Largest confirmed eruption
VEI 2 (2000, the most recent of 7)
Confirmed eruptions since 1900
11
Summary (VEI over time)
Click a bar to see individual eruptions · Use arrow keys to move between bars, Enter to open
1881~1894 · 1 eruptions · max VEI 21907~1920 · 1 eruptions · max VEI 21947~1960 · 3 eruptions · max VEI 21973~1986 · 1 eruptions · max VEI 21986~1999 · 3 eruptions · max VEI 21999~2012 · 4 eruptions · max VEI 218811907194719731999

Detailed timeline

  1. 2012VEI 0Observed
    2012-09-05 – 2026-03-16
    Mawson Peak
  2. 2006VEI 0Observed
    2006-03-11 – 2008-03-03
    Mawson Peak
  3. 2003VEI 0Observed
    2003-06-09 – 2004-06-14
    Mawson Peak
  4. 2000VEI 2Observed
    2000-03-07 – 2001-02-16
    Mawson Peak and upper south flank
  5. 1993VEI 2Observed
    1993-01-02 – end unknown
    Mawson Peak
  6. 1992VEI ?Method not stated
    1992-01-17 – 1992-01-18
    Mawson Peak
  7. 1992VEI 0Observed
    1992-05-29 – end unknown
    Mawson Peak
  8. 1985VEI 2Observed
    1985-01-14 – 1987-01-16
    Mawson Peak
  9. 1954VEI 2Observed
    1954-04-13 – 1954-06-13
    Mawson Peak
  10. 1953VEI 2Observed
    1953-08-20 – 1953-11-18
    Mawson Peak
  11. 1950VEI 2Observed
    1950-01-24 – 1952-03-12
    Mawson Peak
  12. 1910VEI 2Observed
    1910-03-16 – 1910-04-16
    Mawson Peak
  13. 1881VEI 2Method not stated
    1881-06-02 – end unknown

Nearby volcanoes

External links

⚠ For reference only. Not for emergency response.