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Tonga · Complex volcano

Curacoa volcano

Curacoa

Type
Complex volcano
Elevation
33m (submarine)
Last eruption
1979
A raft of floating pumice from a July 1973 submarine eruption behind the wake of a ship. This was the first report of an eruption from the Curacoa submarine volcano in the northern Tonga Islands. The pumice raft covered an area of more than 100 km2 and was encountered by a ship 200 km to the W nearly two weeks after the start of the eruption. Another eruption was observed in the same general area in 1979.
A raft of floating pumice from a July 1973 submarine eruption behind the wake of a ship. This was the first report of an eruption from the Curacoa submarine volcano in the northern Tonga Islands. The pumice raft covered an area of more than 100 km2 and was encountered by a ship 200 km to the W nearly two weeks after the start of the eruption. Another eruption was observed in the same general area in 1979. · Photo: Photo by the crew of the vessel "Port Nicholson," 1973 (courtesy of Tom Simkin, Smithsonian Institution).
Type
Complex volcano
Country
Tonga
Region
Tonga & Kermadec / Tofua Volcanic Arc
Elevation
33m (submarine)
Coordinates
-15.620, -173.670
Last eruption
1979
Tectonic setting
Subduction zone / Oceanic crust (< 15 km)
Landform
Composite
Major rock type
Dacite
Geological summary

A submarine volcano south of Curacoa Reef at the northern end of the Tofua volcanic arc was first observed in eruption in 1973. Explosive eruptions, which produced large rafts of dacitic pumice, covering an area of more than 100 km2, were observed from the island of Tafahi, 27 km SSW. The eruption site was located about 6.5 km SW of Curacoa Reef. Multiple submarine vents are apparently located in this area; a second eruption was reported in 1979 from a location 13 km N of Tafahi.

Eruption history

2 recordedGlossary
Summary (VEI over time)
Click a bar to see individual eruptions · Use arrow keys to move between bars, Enter to open
1973~1974 · 1 eruptions · max VEI 31978~1979 · 1 eruptions · max VEI 119731974197619771978

Detailed timeline

  1. 1979VEI 1Observed
    1979-05-14 – end unknown
    13 km north of Tafahi
  2. 1973VEI 3Observed
    1973-07-11 – 1973-07-16
    6.4 km SW of Curacoa Reef

Nearby volcanoes

External links

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