Skip to main content
← Back to map
⇄ Compare

Prince Edward Island

Shield volcano · South Africa · 672m

The 10-km-wide Prince Edward Island is around 300 km S of the SW Indian Ocean Ridge and is shown in this 24 May 2019 Sentinel-2 satellite image (N is at the top). Seven tuff cones have been identified and scoria cones have also formed across the island, as well as lava flows. A large portion of the island has been submerged through faulting.
The 10-km-wide Prince Edward Island is around 300 km S of the SW Indian Ocean Ridge and is shown in this 24 May 2019 Sentinel-2 satellite image (N is at the top). Seven tuff cones have been identified and scoria cones have also formed across the island, as well as lava flows. A large portion of the island has been submerged through faulting. · Photo: Satellite image courtesy of Copernicus Sentinel Data, 2019. · Wikimedia Commons
Type
Shield volcano
Country
South Africa
Region
Somalian & Antarctic / Marion Hotspot Volcano Group
Elevation
672m
Coordinates
-46.630, 37.950
Last eruption
Unknown
Tectonic setting
Rift zone / Oceanic crust (< 15 km)
Landform
Shield
Major rock type
Basalt / Picro-Basalt
Geological summary

Uninhabited 5 x 10-km-wide Prince Edward Island lies opposite Marion Island at the N end of a submarine plateau on the Antarctic Plate immediately S of the SW Indian Ocean Ridge. It is a low-angle remnant of a large shield volcano formerly centered off the current NW shore of the island. Pleistocene and Holocene scoria cones and tuff cones are located throughout the unglaciated island, which was active contemporaneously with nearby Marion Island. Fifteen of the scoria cones and four tuff cones on the coastal plain were active during the Holocene.

Eruption history

Detailed timeline

No eruption records available.

External links

⚠ For reference only. Not for emergency response.