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Kerguelen Islands

Stratovolcano · France · 1840m

The Rallier du Baty Peninsula (bottom left) forms the SW tip of Kerguelen Island. It contains two subglacial eruptive centers, Mont St. Allouarn and Mont Henri Rallier du Baty. An active fumarole field is related to a series of Holocene trachytic lava flows and lahars that extend beyond the icecap. The snow-covered peak at the mid-right is late-Pleistocene Mount Ross stratovolcano. The Kerguelen Islands are composed primarily of Tertiary flood basalts and a complex of plutonic rocks extensively modified by glaciation.
The Rallier du Baty Peninsula (bottom left) forms the SW tip of Kerguelen Island. It contains two subglacial eruptive centers, Mont St. Allouarn and Mont Henri Rallier du Baty. An active fumarole field is related to a series of Holocene trachytic lava flows and lahars that extend beyond the icecap. The snow-covered peak at the mid-right is late-Pleistocene Mount Ross stratovolcano. The Kerguelen Islands are composed primarily of Tertiary flood basalts and a complex of plutonic rocks extensively modified by glaciation. · Photo: NASA International Space Station image ISS005-E-21805, 2002 (http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/). · Wikimedia Commons
Type
Stratovolcano
Country
France
Region
Somalian-Antarctic Volcanic Regions / Kerguelen Hotspot Volcano Group
Elevation
1840m
Coordinates
-49.580, 69.500
Last eruption
Unknown
Tectonic setting
Intraplate / Oceanic crust (< 15 km)
Landform
Composite
Major rock type
Trachyandesite / Basaltic Trachyandesite
Geological summary

The Kerguelen Islands are composed primarily of Tertiary flood basalts and a complex of plutonic rocks. The trachybasaltic-to-trachytic Mount Ross stratovolcano at the S end was active during the late Pleistocene. The Rallier du Baty Peninsula on the SW tip of the island contains two youthful subglacial eruptive centers, Mont St. Allouarn and Mont Henri Rallier du Baty. An active fumarole field is related to a series of Holocene trachytic lava flows and lahars that extend beyond the icecap (Ballestracci and Nougier, 1984). Gagnevin et al. (2003) dated a trachytic ignimbrite that was considered to represent the last major eruptive event on the Kerguelen Archipelago at 26,000 +/- 3000 years.

From Wikipedia

The Kerguelen Islands, also known as the Desolation Islands, are a group of islands in the sub-Antarctic region. They are among the most isolated places on Earth, with the closest territory being the Heard Island and McDonald Islands territory of Australia located at roughly 450 kilometres to the southeast, and the nearest permanently inhabited territory being Madagascar at more than 3,300 km (1,800 nmi) in distance. The islands, along with Adélie Land, the Crozet Islands, Amsterdam and Saint Paul islands, and France's Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean, are part of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands and are administered as a separate district.

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Eruption history

Detailed timeline

No eruption records available.

External links

⚠ For reference only. Not for emergency response.