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La Soufrière

Soufriere St. Vincent

Stratovolcano · Saint Vincent and the Grenadines · 1220m

Soufrière St. Vincent volcano forms the northern end of the island of St. Vincent. The 1178-m-high stratovolcano, seen here from off the west coast, has a broad summit. The peak at the left, the volcano's high point, is the NW rim of a large crater created by a massive volcanic landslide. The present-day, 1.6-km-wide summit crater truncates a cone (forming the flat-topped area across the saddle to the right) that was constructed within the earlier crater. Several powerful explosive eruptions have occurred in historical time since 1718.
Soufrière St. Vincent volcano forms the northern end of the island of St. Vincent. The 1178-m-high stratovolcano, seen here from off the west coast, has a broad summit. The peak at the left, the volcano's high point, is the NW rim of a large crater created by a massive volcanic landslide. The present-day, 1.6-km-wide summit crater truncates a cone (forming the flat-topped area across the saddle to the right) that was constructed within the earlier crater. Several powerful explosive eruptions have occurred in historical time since 1718. · Photo: Photo by William Melson, 1972 (Smithsonian Institution). · Wikimedia Commons
Type
Stratovolcano
Country
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Region
Middle America-Caribbean Volcanic Regions / 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

Summary (VEI over time)
Click a bar to see individual eruptions
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 0Geological estimate
    1880 – Ongoing
  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 – Ongoing
  9. 1718VEI 3Observed
    1718-03-26 – 1718-03-29
  10. 1640 (±50 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    1640 – Ongoing
  11. 1550 (±50 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    1550 – Ongoing
  12. 1480 (±150 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    1480 – Ongoing
  13. 1395 (±75 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    1395 – Ongoing
  14. 1325 (±75 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    1325 – Ongoing
  15. 905 (±75 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    905 – Ongoing
  16. 530 BCE (±75 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    BCE 530 – Ongoing
  17. 750 BCE (±100 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    BCE 750 – Ongoing
  18. 1600 BCE (±75 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    BCE 1600 – Ongoing
  19. 2020 BCE (±75 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    BCE 2020 – Ongoing
  20. 2135 BCE (±50 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    BCE 2135 – Ongoing
  21. 2200 BCE (±150 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    BCE 2200 – Ongoing
  22. 2310 BCE (±100 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    BCE 2310 – Ongoing
  23. 2380 BCE (±100 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    BCE 2380 – Ongoing

External links

⚠ For reference only. Not for emergency response.