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Barren Island

Stratovolcano · India · 354m

An ash plume in 1991 rises above Barren Island along the volcanic arc connecting north of Sumatra. The 3-km-wide island contains a 1.6-km-wide crater that is partially filled by a scoria cone that has been the source of eruptions since the first was recorded in 1787. Lava flows reached the coast during several recent eruptions.
An ash plume in 1991 rises above Barren Island along the volcanic arc connecting north of Sumatra. The 3-km-wide island contains a 1.6-km-wide crater that is partially filled by a scoria cone that has been the source of eruptions since the first was recorded in 1787. Lava flows reached the coast during several recent eruptions. · Photo: Photo courtesy of D. Haldar, 1991 (Geological Survey of India). · Wikimedia Commons
Type
Stratovolcano
Country
India
Region
Sunda-Banda Volcanic Regions / Andaman Volcanic Province
Elevation
354m
Coordinates
12.278, 93.858
Last eruption
2026
Tectonic setting
Subduction zone / Continental crust (> 25 km)
Landform
Composite
Major rock type
Basalt / Picro-Basalt
Geological summary

Barren Island, a possession of India in the Andaman Sea about 135 km NE of Port Blair in the Andaman Islands, is the only historically active volcano along the N-S volcanic arc extending between Sumatra and Burma (Myanmar). It is the emergent summit of a volcano that rises from a depth of about 2250 m. The small, uninhabited 3-km-wide island contains a roughly 2-km-wide caldera with walls 250-350 m high. The caldera, which is open to the sea on the west, was created during a major explosive eruption in the late Pleistocene that produced pyroclastic-flow and -surge deposits. Historical eruptions have changed the morphology of the pyroclastic cone in the center of the caldera, and lava flows that fill much of the caldera floor have reached the sea along the western coast.

From Wikipedia

Barren Island is an uninhabited island in the Andaman Sea. It is the only confirmed active volcano in the Indian subcontinent, and the only active volcano along a chain of volcanoes from Sumatra to Myanmar. It is a part of the Indian Union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and lies about 138 km (86 mi) northeast of the territory's capital, Port Blair.

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Eruption history

Summary (VEI over time)
Click a bar to see individual eruptions
8060 BCE~7724 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?1689~2025 · 22 eruptions · max VEI 28060 BCE5707 BCE3017 BCE664 BCE1689

Detailed timeline

  1. 2025VEI ?Observed
    2025-07-30 – 2026-01-11
  2. 2024VEI 2Observed
    2024-03-15 – 2024-05-29
  3. 2022VEI ?Observed
    2022-05-15 – 2022-05-15
  4. 2022VEI 2Observed
    2022-12-30 – 2023-08-18
  5. 2019VEI 1Observed
    2019-10-23 – 2022-01-30
    Summit crater
  6. 2018VEI 1Observed
    2018-09-25 – 2019-04-30
    Summit crater and NW, SW, and SE flanks
  7. 2017VEI 1Observed
    2017-01-15 – 2017-03-24
    Main cone, summit crater
  8. 2015VEI 2Observed
    2015-03-17 – 2016-05-17
    Main cone
  9. 2013VEI 2Observed
    2013-02-16 – 2013-02-16
    Summit caldera
  10. 2013VEI 2Observed
    2013-10-12 – 2014-06-01
    Main cone
  11. 2010VEI 1Observed
    2010-09-17 – 2011-06-22
    Summit caldera and N flank
  12. 2008VEI 2Observed
    2008-05-13 – 2010-04-19
  13. 2005VEI 2Observed
    2005-05-26 – 2007-12-23
    Central cone summit, N, S, and SW flanks
  14. 2000VEI 1Geological estimate
    2000-01-16 – Ongoing
  15. 1994VEI 2Observed
    1994-12-20 – 1995-06-05
    Central cone summit, SW & S flanks
  16. 1991VEI 2Observed
    1991-04-01 – 1991-10-31
    Central cone summit and NE flank
  17. 1852VEI 2Geological estimate
    1852 – Ongoing
  18. 1832VEI 2Observed
    1832-03 – Ongoing
  19. 1803VEI 2Observed
    1803-11 – 1804-01-31
  20. 1795VEI 2Observed
    1795-12-20 – 1795-12-21
  21. 1789VEI 2Observed
    1789-03-24 – Ongoing
  22. 1787VEI 2Observed
    1787-05-12 – Ongoing
  23. 8060 BCE (±100 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    BCE 8060 – Ongoing

External links

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