France · Stratovolcano
Mount Pelée
Pelee
- Type
- Stratovolcano
- Elevation
- 1372m
- Last eruption
- 1932

- 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 recordedGlossaryDetailed timeline
- 1929VEI 3Observed1929-09-16 – 1932-12-01
- 1902VEI 4Observed1902-04-23 – 1905-10-05Rivière Blanche and summit crater
- 1851VEI 2Observed1851-08-05 – 1852-02-01Upper Rivière Claire valley (900 m elevation)
- 1792VEI 1Observed1792-01-22 – 1792-04Upper Rivière Claire valley
- 1635VEI ?Observed1635 – end unknown
- 1460 (±20 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate1460 – end unknown
- 1370VEI ?Geological estimate1370 – end unknown
- 1340 (±50 yrs)VEI 4Geological estimate1340 – end unknown
- 1260 (±20 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate1260 – end unknown
- 1190VEI ?Geological estimate1190 – end unknown
- 910VEI ?Geological estimate910 – end unknown
- 890 (±100 yrs)VEI 4Geological estimate890 – end unknown
- 720VEI ?Geological estimate720 – end unknown
- 650VEI ?Geological estimate650 – end unknown
- 450VEI 4Geological estimate450 – end unknown
- 350 (±75 yrs)VEI 4Geological estimate350 – end unknown
- 300VEI 4Geological estimate300 – end unknown
- 220 (±75 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate220 – end unknown
- 130VEI 4Geological estimate130 – end unknown
- 50VEI 4Geological estimate50 – end unknown
- 10 (±50 yrs)VEI 4Geological estimate10 – end unknown
- 200 BCEVEI 4Geological estimate200 BCE – end unknown
- 300 BCE (±100 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate300 BCE – end unknown
- 440 BCEVEI 4Geological estimate440 BCE – end unknown
- 590 BCE (±200 yrs)VEI 4Geological estimate590 BCE – end unknown
- 600 BCEVEI ?Geological estimate600 BCE – end unknown
- 620 BCEVEI ?Geological estimate620 BCE – end unknown
- 730 BCEVEI ?Geological estimate730 BCE – end unknown
- 890 BCE (±50 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate890 BCE – end unknown
- 1390 BCE (±150 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate1390 BCE – end unknown
- 2100 BCE (±200 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate2100 BCE – end unknown
- 2280 BCEVEI ?Geological estimate2280 BCE – end unknown
- 2360 BCEVEI ?Geological estimate2360 BCE – end unknown
- 2430 BCEVEI 4Geological estimate2430 BCE – end unknown
- 2460 BCE (±100 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate2460 BCE – end unknown
- 2660 BCE (±200 yrs)VEI 4Geological estimate2660 BCE – end unknown
- 3020 BCEVEI ?Geological estimate3020 BCE – end unknown
- 3120 BCE (±200 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate3120 BCE – end unknown
- 3250 BCEVEI ?Geological estimate3250 BCE – end unknown
- 3290 BCEVEI ?Geological estimate3290 BCE – end unknown
- 3430 BCE (±75 yrs)VEI 4Geological estimate3430 BCE – end unknown
- 3500 BCE (±200 yrs)VEI 4Geological estimate3500 BCE – end unknown
- 3820 BCEVEI 4Geological estimate3820 BCE – end unknown
- 3930 BCE (±100 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate3930 BCE – end unknown
- 4510 BCE (±500 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate4510 BCE – end unknown
- 5500 BCE (±200 yrs)VEI 4Geological estimate5500 BCE – end unknown
- 5800 BCEVEI ?Geological estimate5800 BCE – end unknown
- 6220 BCE (±200 yrs)VEI 4Geological estimate6220 BCE – end unknownVent slightly south of present summit
- 6450 BCEVEI ?Geological estimate6450 BCE – end unknownVent slightly south of present summit
- 6610 BCE (±150 yrs)VEI 4Geological estimate6610 BCE – end unknown
- 7050 BCE (±1000 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate7050 BCE – end unknownESE flank (Sans Nom lava dome)
- 7320 BCE (±1730 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate7320 BCE – end unknown
- 7750 BCE (±500 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate7750 BCE – end unknownESE flank (Aileron lava dome)
- 8210 BCE (±200 yrs)VEI 4Geological estimate8210 BCE – end unknown
Nearby volcanoes
External links
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