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France · Stratovolcano

Mount Pelée

Pelee

Type
Stratovolcano
Elevation
1372m
Last eruption
1932
Mount Pelée
Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Type
Stratovolcano
Country
France
Region
Middle America & Caribbean / Lesser Antilles Volcanic Arc
Elevation
1372m
Coordinates
14.809, -61.166
Last eruption
1932
Tectonic setting
Subduction zone / Oceanic crust (< 15 km)
Landform
Composite
Major rock type
Andesite / Basaltic andesite
Geological summary

Montagne Pelée forms the northern end of the island of Martinique. Three major edifice failures since the late Pleistocene, the last about 9,000 years ago, have left large scarps open to the SW inside which the modern volcano has been constructed. More than 20 large eruptions have occurred here during the past 5,000 years. Extensive pyroclastic-flow deposits, incised by steep-walled ravines, mantle the slopes of the volcano. The l'Etang Sec summit crater is filled by two lava domes emplaced during the 1902 and 1929 eruptions. Moderate phreatic or phreatomagmatic eruptions in the Upper Rivière Claire valley were recorded in 1792 and 1851-52. The catastrophic 1902 eruption, which destroyed the city of St. Pierre, became the type-example of Pelean eruptions and marked the onset of modern volcanological studies of pyroclastic density currents.

From Wikipedia

Mount Pelée or Mont Pelée is an active stratovolcano at the northern end of Martinique, an island and French overseas department in the Lesser Antilles Volcanic Arc of the Caribbean. Its volcanic cone is composed of stratified layers of hardened ash and solidified lava. Its most recent eruption was in 1932.

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Eruption history

54 recordedGlossary
Summary (VEI over time)
Click a bar to see individual eruptions · Use arrow keys to move between bars, Enter to open
8210 BCE~7872 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI 47872 BCE~7534 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?7534 BCE~7196 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?7196 BCE~6858 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?6858 BCE~6520 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI 46520 BCE~6182 BCE · 2 eruptions · max VEI 45844 BCE~5506 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?5506 BCE~5168 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI 44830 BCE~4492 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?4154 BCE~3816 BCE · 2 eruptions · max VEI 43816 BCE~3478 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI 43478 BCE~3140 BCE · 3 eruptions · max VEI 43140 BCE~2803 BCE · 2 eruptions · max VEI ?2803 BCE~2465 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI 42465 BCE~2127 BCE · 4 eruptions · max VEI 42127 BCE~1789 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?1451 BCE~1113 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?1113 BCE~775 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?775 BCE~437 BCE · 5 eruptions · max VEI 4437 BCE~99 BCE · 2 eruptions · max VEI 499 BCE~239 · 4 eruptions · max VEI 4239~577 · 3 eruptions · max VEI 4577~915 · 4 eruptions · max VEI 4915~1253 · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?1253~1591 · 4 eruptions · max VEI 41591~1929 · 5 eruptions · max VEI 48210 BCE5844 BCE3140 BCE775 BCE1591

Detailed timeline

  1. 1929VEI 3Observed
    1929-09-16 – 1932-12-01
  2. 1902VEI 4Observed
    1902-04-23 – 1905-10-05
    Rivière Blanche and summit crater
  3. 1851VEI 2Observed
    1851-08-05 – 1852-02-01
    Upper Rivière Claire valley (900 m elevation)
  4. 1792VEI 1Observed
    1792-01-22 – 1792-04
    Upper Rivière Claire valley
  5. 1635VEI ?Observed
    1635 – end unknown
  6. 1460 (±20 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    1460 – end unknown
  7. 1370VEI ?Geological estimate
    1370 – end unknown
  8. 1340 (±50 yrs)VEI 4Geological estimate
    1340 – end unknown
  9. 1260 (±20 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    1260 – end unknown
  10. 1190VEI ?Geological estimate
    1190 – end unknown
  11. 910VEI ?Geological estimate
    910 – end unknown
  12. 890 (±100 yrs)VEI 4Geological estimate
    890 – end unknown
  13. 720VEI ?Geological estimate
    720 – end unknown
  14. 650VEI ?Geological estimate
    650 – end unknown
  15. 450VEI 4Geological estimate
    450 – end unknown
  16. 350 (±75 yrs)VEI 4Geological estimate
    350 – end unknown
  17. 300VEI 4Geological estimate
    300 – end unknown
  18. 220 (±75 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    220 – end unknown
  19. 130VEI 4Geological estimate
    130 – end unknown
  20. 50VEI 4Geological estimate
    50 – end unknown
  21. 10 (±50 yrs)VEI 4Geological estimate
    10 – end unknown
  22. 200 BCEVEI 4Geological estimate
    200 BCE – end unknown
  23. 300 BCE (±100 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    300 BCE – end unknown
  24. 440 BCEVEI 4Geological estimate
    440 BCE – end unknown
  25. 590 BCE (±200 yrs)VEI 4Geological estimate
    590 BCE – end unknown
  26. 600 BCEVEI ?Geological estimate
    600 BCE – end unknown
  27. 620 BCEVEI ?Geological estimate
    620 BCE – end unknown
  28. 730 BCEVEI ?Geological estimate
    730 BCE – end unknown
  29. 890 BCE (±50 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    890 BCE – end unknown
  30. 1390 BCE (±150 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    1390 BCE – end unknown
  31. 2100 BCE (±200 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    2100 BCE – end unknown
  32. 2280 BCEVEI ?Geological estimate
    2280 BCE – end unknown
  33. 2360 BCEVEI ?Geological estimate
    2360 BCE – end unknown
  34. 2430 BCEVEI 4Geological estimate
    2430 BCE – end unknown
  35. 2460 BCE (±100 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    2460 BCE – end unknown
  36. 2660 BCE (±200 yrs)VEI 4Geological estimate
    2660 BCE – end unknown
  37. 3020 BCEVEI ?Geological estimate
    3020 BCE – end unknown
  38. 3120 BCE (±200 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    3120 BCE – end unknown
  39. 3250 BCEVEI ?Geological estimate
    3250 BCE – end unknown
  40. 3290 BCEVEI ?Geological estimate
    3290 BCE – end unknown
  41. 3430 BCE (±75 yrs)VEI 4Geological estimate
    3430 BCE – end unknown
  42. 3500 BCE (±200 yrs)VEI 4Geological estimate
    3500 BCE – end unknown
  43. 3820 BCEVEI 4Geological estimate
    3820 BCE – end unknown
  44. 3930 BCE (±100 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    3930 BCE – end unknown
  45. 4510 BCE (±500 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    4510 BCE – end unknown
  46. 5500 BCE (±200 yrs)VEI 4Geological estimate
    5500 BCE – end unknown
  47. 5800 BCEVEI ?Geological estimate
    5800 BCE – end unknown
  48. 6220 BCE (±200 yrs)VEI 4Geological estimate
    6220 BCE – end unknown
    Vent slightly south of present summit
  49. 6450 BCEVEI ?Geological estimate
    6450 BCE – end unknown
    Vent slightly south of present summit
  50. 6610 BCE (±150 yrs)VEI 4Geological estimate
    6610 BCE – end unknown
  51. 7050 BCE (±1000 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    7050 BCE – end unknown
    ESE flank (Sans Nom lava dome)
  52. 7320 BCE (±1730 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    7320 BCE – end unknown
  53. 7750 BCE (±500 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    7750 BCE – end unknown
    ESE flank (Aileron lava dome)
  54. 8210 BCE (±200 yrs)VEI 4Geological estimate
    8210 BCE – end unknown

Nearby volcanoes

External links

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