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St. Vincent & Grenadines · Stratovolcano

La Soufrière

Soufriere St. Vincent

Type
Stratovolcano
Elevation
1220m
Last eruption
2021
La Soufrière
CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Type
Stratovolcano
Country
St. Vincent & Grenadines
Region
Middle America & Caribbean / Lesser Antilles Volcanic Arc
Elevation
1220m
Coordinates
13.330, -61.180
Last eruption
2021
Tectonic setting
Subduction zone / Oceanic crust (< 15 km)
Landform
Composite
Major rock type
Andesite / Basaltic andesite
Geological summary

Soufrière St. Vincent is the northernmost and youngest volcano on St. Vincent Island. The NE rim of the 1.6-km wide summit crater is cut by a crater formed in 1812. The crater itself lies on the SW margin of a larger 2.2-km-wide caldera, which is breached widely to the SW as a result of slope failure. Frequent explosive eruptions after about 4,300 years ago produced pyroclastic deposits of the Yellow Tephra Formation, which cover much of the island. The first historical eruption took place in 1718; it and the 1812 eruption produced major explosions. Much of the northern end of the island was devastated by a major eruption in 1902 that coincided with the catastrophic Mont Pelée eruption on Martinique. A lava dome was emplaced in the summit crater in 1971 during a strictly effusive eruption, forming an island within a lake that filled the crater. A series of explosive eruptions in 1979 destroyed the 1971 dome and ejected the lake; a new dome was then built.

From Wikipedia

La Soufrière or Soufrière Saint Vincent is an active volcano on the Caribbean island of Saint Vincent in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. It is the highest peak on Saint Vincent, and has had eight recorded eruptions since 1718. The latest eruptive activity began on 27 December 2020 with the slow extrusion of a dome of lava, and culminated in a series of explosive events between 9 and 22 April 2021.

Wikipedia · CC BY-SA · Read full article →

Eruption history

23 recordedGlossary
Summary (VEI over time)
Click a bar to see individual eruptions · Use arrow keys to move between bars, Enter to open
2380 BCE~2180 BCE · 3 eruptions · max VEI ?2180 BCE~1980 BCE · 2 eruptions · max VEI ?1780 BCE~1580 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?780 BCE~580 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?580 BCE~380 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?820~1020 · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?1220~1420 · 2 eruptions · max VEI ?1420~1620 · 2 eruptions · max VEI ?1620~1820 · 5 eruptions · max VEI 41820~2020 · 5 eruptions · max VEI 42380 BCE1380 BCE180 BCE8201820

Detailed timeline

  1. 2020VEI 4Observed
    2020-12-27 – 2021-04-22
  2. 1979VEI 3Observed
    1979-04-13 – 1979-10-26
  3. 1971VEI 0Observed
    1971-10-04 – 1972-03-20
  4. 1902VEI 4Observed
    1902-05-06 – 1903-03-30
  5. 1880VEI 0Method not stated
    1880-07-02 – end unknown
  6. 1814VEI 1Observed
    1814-01-09 – 1814-01-09
  7. 1812VEI 4Observed
    1812-04-27 – 1812-06-09
    Old summit crater & new NE rim crater
  8. 1784VEI 0Observed
    1784-03 – end unknown
  9. 1718VEI 3Observed
    1718-03-26 – 1718-03-29
  10. 1640 (±50 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    1640 – end unknown
  11. 1550 (±50 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    1550 – end unknown
  12. 1480 (±150 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    1480 – end unknown
  13. 1395 (±75 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    1395 – end unknown
  14. 1325 (±75 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    1325 – end unknown
  15. 905 (±75 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    905 – end unknown
  16. 530 BCE (±75 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    530 BCE – end unknown
  17. 750 BCE (±100 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    750 BCE – end unknown
  18. 1600 BCE (±75 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    1600 BCE – end unknown
  19. 2020 BCE (±75 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    2020 BCE – end unknown
  20. 2135 BCE (±50 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    2135 BCE – end unknown
  21. 2200 BCE (±150 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    2200 BCE – end unknown
  22. 2310 BCE (±100 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    2310 BCE – end unknown
  23. 2380 BCE (±100 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    2380 BCE – end unknown

Nearby volcanoes

External links

⚠ For reference only. Not for emergency response.