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Gaua

Stratovolcano · Vanuatu · 729m

A plume rises from the active crater of Mount Garat in this view across Lake Letas, within the 6 x 9 km summit caldera of Gaua volcano (also known as Santa Maria). Three craters are located at the top of Mount Garat. The onset of eruptive activity from a vent high on the SE flank in 1962 ended a long period of dormancy.
A plume rises from the active crater of Mount Garat in this view across Lake Letas, within the 6 x 9 km summit caldera of Gaua volcano (also known as Santa Maria). Three craters are located at the top of Mount Garat. The onset of eruptive activity from a vent high on the SE flank in 1962 ended a long period of dormancy. · Photo: Photo by John Seach, 1999. · Wikimedia Commons
Type
Stratovolcano
Country
Vanuatu
Region
Southwestern Pacific Volcanic Regions / Vanuatu Volcanic Arc
Elevation
729m
Coordinates
-14.281, 167.514
Last eruption
2022
Tectonic setting
Subduction zone / Intermediate crust (15-25 km)
Landform
Composite
Major rock type
Andesite / Basaltic Andesite
Geological summary

The roughly 20-km-diameter Gaua Island, also known as Santa Maria, consists of a basaltic-to-andesitic stratovolcano with an 6 x 9 km summit caldera. Small vents near the caldera rim fed Pleistocene lava flows that reached the coast on several sides of the island; littoral cones were formed where these lava flows reached the ocean. Quiet collapse that formed the roughly 700-m-deep caldera was followed by extensive ash eruptions. The active Mount Garet (or Garat) cone in the SW part of the caldera has three pit craters across the summit area. Construction of Garet and other small cinder cones has left a crescent-shaped lake. Eruptions have been frequent since the onset of activity from a vent high on the SE flank in 1962.

From Wikipedia

Gaua is the largest and second most populous of the Banks Islands in Torba Province in northern Vanuatu. It covers 342 km2.

Wikipedia · CC BY-SA · Read full article →

Eruption history

Summary (VEI over time)
Click a bar to see individual eruptions
1875~1890 · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?1949~1963 · 2 eruptions · max VEI 21963~1978 · 9 eruptions · max VEI 31978~1993 · 3 eruptions · max VEI 22007~2022 · 4 eruptions · max VEI 218751904194919782007

Detailed timeline

  1. 2022VEI 1Observed
    2022-05-03 – 2022-05-03
    Mt. Garet
  2. 2021VEI 1Observed
    2021-11-16 – 2021-11-16
    Mt. Garet
  3. 2011VEI 1Observed
    2011-09-17 – 2011-10-10
    Mt. Garat
  4. 2009VEI 2Observed
    2009-09-27 – 2010-06-19
    Mt. Garat
  5. 1982VEI 2Observed
    1982-04-18 – 1982-04-18
    Mt. Garat
  6. 1981VEI 1Observed
    1981-07-09 – 1981-07-09
    Mt. Garat
  7. 1980VEI 1Observed
    1980-07-02 – Ongoing
    Mt. Garat
  8. 1977VEI 2Observed
    1977-04-13 – 1977-04-13
    Mt. Garat
  9. 1976VEI 2Observed
    1976-01-15 – Ongoing
    Mt. Garat
  10. 1973VEI 2Observed
    1973-10-09 – 1974-01-21
    Mt. Garat (upper SE flank)
  11. 1971VEI 2Observed
    1971-05-12 – 1971-05-13
    Mt. Garat (upper SE flank)
  12. 1969VEI 2Observed
    1969-09-22 – Ongoing
    Mt. Garat
  13. 1968VEI 2Observed
    1968-07-02 – 1968-12-01
    Mt. Garat (upper SE flank)
  14. 1967VEI 2Observed
    1967-07-16 – Ongoing
    Mt. Garat
  15. 1966VEI 2Observed
    1966-07-02 – Ongoing
    Mt. Garat
  16. 1965VEI 3Observed
    1965-09-27 – 1965-09-30
    Mt. Garat
  17. 1963VEI 2Observed
    1963-09-15 – 1963-11-09
    Mt. Garat (upper SE flank)
  18. 1962VEI 2Observed
    1962-07-16 – Ongoing
    Mt. Garat
  19. 1875VEI ?Observed
    1875-06 – Ongoing

External links

⚠ For reference only. Not for emergency response.