Papua New Guinea · Stratovolcano
Karkar Island
Karkar
- Type
- Stratovolcano
- Elevation
- 1839m
- Last eruption
- 1979

- Type
- Stratovolcano
- Country
- Papua New Guinea
- Region
- Southwestern Pacific / Bismarck Volcanic Arc
- Elevation
- 1839m
- Coordinates
- -4.647, 145.976
- Last eruption
- 1979
- Tectonic setting
- Subduction zone / Continental crust (> 25 km)
- Landform
- Composite
- Major rock type
- Andesite / Basaltic andesite
Geological summary
Karkar is a 19 x 25 km forest-covered island that is truncated by two nested summit calderas. The 5.5 km outer caldera was formed during one or more eruptions, the last of which occurred 9,000 years ago. The steep-walled 300-m-deep, 3.2 km diameter, inner caldera was formed sometime between 1,500 and 800 years ago. Cones are present on the N and S flanks of this basaltic-to-andesitic volcano; a linear array of small cones extends from the northern rim of the outer caldera nearly to the coast. Recorded eruptions date back to 1643 from Bagiai, a pyroclastic cone constructed within the inner caldera, the floor of which is covered by young, mostly unvegetated andesitic lava flows.
From Wikipedia
Karkar Island is an oval-shaped volcanic island located in the Bismarck Sea, about 74 kilometres (46 mi) off the north coast of mainland Papua New Guinea in Madang Province, from which it is separated by the Isumrud Strait. The island is about 25 km (16 mi) in length and 19 km (12 mi) in width. In the centre is an active volcano with two nested calderas.
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Eruption history
19 recordedGlossaryDetailed timeline
- 2014VEI 1Observed2014-03-26 – 2014-03-27Uncertain
- 2013VEI 3Observed2013-01-29 – 2013-03-15Bagiai cone
- 2012VEI 3Observed2012-02-01 – 2012-02-01Unknown
- 2010VEI 1Observed2010-02-25 – 2010-02-26Uncertain
- 2009VEI ?Method not stated2009-05-01 – end unknown
- 1980VEI 1Method not stated1980-01-07 – 1980-01-17
- 1979VEI 2Observed1979-01-12 – 1979-08-09SE foot of Bagiai
- 1974VEI 2Observed1974-02-14 – 1974-08-08Bagiai
- 1974VEI 2Observed1974-12-30 – 1975-06-26Bagiai
- 1962VEI 2Method not stated1962-07-02 – end unknownUlumam
- 1895VEI 2Observed1895-06-17 – 1895-08-16
- 1885VEI 2Observed1885-07-02 – end unknown
- 1830VEI ?Method not stated1830-07-02 – end unknown
- 1643VEI 3Observed1643-04-20 – end unknown
- 1070 (±200 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate1070 – end unknownSouth flank (Patilo Cone)
- 730VEI 4Geological estimate730 – end unknown
- 520 (±100 yrs)VEI 4Geological estimate520 – end unknown
- 870 BCE (±75 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate870 BCE – end unknown
- 7140 BCE (±150 yrs)VEI 4Geological estimate7140 BCE – end unknown
Nearby volcanoes
External links
⚠ For reference only. Not for emergency response.