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Terceira Island

Terceira

Stratovolcano · Portugal · 1023m

The Monte Brasil pyroclastic cone is seen here beyond the city of Angra do Heroísmo on the south-central coast of Terceira Island. The 1.4 km wide cone is attached to the island by a small peninsula, and is related to the activity of the Guilherme Moniz volcano, which occupies the center of Terceira.
The Monte Brasil pyroclastic cone is seen here beyond the city of Angra do Heroísmo on the south-central coast of Terceira Island. The 1.4 km wide cone is attached to the island by a small peninsula, and is related to the activity of the Guilherme Moniz volcano, which occupies the center of Terceira. · Photo: Photo by Luís A. da Silveira, 2007 (Wikimedia Commons). · Wikimedia Commons
Type
Stratovolcano
Country
Portugal
Region
Atlantic Ocean Volcanic Regions / Azores-Terceira Rift Volcanic Province
Elevation
1023m
Coordinates
38.730, -27.320
Last eruption
2000
Tectonic setting
Rift zone / Oceanic crust (< 15 km)
Landform
Composite
Major rock type
Basalt / Picro-Basalt
Geological summary

Terceira Island contains multiple stratovolcanoes constructed along a prominent ESE-WNW fissure zone that cuts across the island. Historically active Santa Barbara volcano at the western end of the island is truncated by two calderas, the youngest of which formed about 15,000 years ago. Comenditic lava domes fill and surround the caldera. Pico Alto lies north of the fissure zone in the north-central part of the island and contains a Pleistocene caldera largely filled by lava domes and lava flows. Guilherme Moniz caldera lies along the fissure zone immediately to the south, and 7-km-wide Cinquio Picos caldera is at the SE end of the island. Historical eruptions have occurred from Pico Alto, the fissure zone between Pico Alto and Santa Barbara, and from submarine vents west of Santa Barbara. Most Holocene eruptions have produced basaltic-to-rhyolitic lava flows from the fissure zone.

From Wikipedia

Terceira is a volcanic island in the Azores archipelago of Portugal, 1,181 km (734 mi) due west of Lisbon. It is one of the larger islands of the archipelago, with a population of 53,311 inhabitants in an area of approximately 396.75 km2 (153.19 sq mi).

Wikipedia · CC BY-SA · Read full article →

Eruption history

Summary (VEI over time)
Click a bar to see individual eruptions
6720 BCE~6429 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?2652 BCE~2361 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?1199 BCE~908 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?908 BCE~617 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?327 BCE~36 BCE · 2 eruptions · max VEI ?36 BCE~254 · 2 eruptions · max VEI ?545~836 · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?836~1126 · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?1126~1417 · 2 eruptions · max VEI ?1707~1998 · 3 eruptions · max VEI 36720 BCE4686 BCE2361 BCE327 BCE1707

Detailed timeline

  1. 1998VEI 0Observed
    1998-11-25 – 2000-03-16
    Serreta Ridge (submarine vent W of Terceira)
  2. 1867VEI 3Observed
    1867-06-01 – 1867-06-08
    Submarine vent 3-6 WNW of Terceira
  3. 1761VEI 2Observed
    1761-04-17 – 1761-04-28
    Fissure zone (east of Santa Barbara)
  4. 1400 (±50 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    1400 – Ongoing
    Farol I dome (Santa Barbara)
  5. 1200 (±300 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    1200 – Ongoing
    Guilherme Moniz (Pico Alto)
  6. 920 (±50 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    920 – Ongoing
    Guilherme Moniz (Quinta da Madalena)
  7. 820 (±40 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    820 – Ongoing
    Santa Barbara
  8. 190 (±40 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    190 – Ongoing
    Guilherme Moniz (Pico Alto)
  9. 70 (±40 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    70 – Ongoing
    Fissure zone (east of Santa Barbara)
  10. 60 BCEVEI ?Geological estimate
    BCE 60 – Ongoing
    Fissure zone (south of Pico Alto)
  11. 90 BCE (±100 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    BCE 90 – Ongoing
    Fissure zone (east of Santa Barbara)
  12. 670 BCE (±300 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    BCE 670 – Ongoing
    Guilherme Moniz
  13. 940 BCE (±50 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    BCE 940 – Ongoing
    Santa Barbara NW flank (Lagoinha dome)
  14. 2530 BCE (±40 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    BCE 2530 – Ongoing
    Fissure zone (east of Santa Barbara)
  15. 6720 BCE (±50 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    BCE 6720 – Ongoing
    Guilherme Moniz (Pico das Pardelas)

External links

⚠ For reference only. Not for emergency response.