Skip to main content
← Back to map
⇄ Compare

Montagu Island

Shield volcano · United Kingdom · 1370m

This 13 January 2006 view of the north side of Montagu Island shows the lava field formed by a recent eruption. A plume rising above Mount Belinda appears to be dominantly composed of steam. The snaking plume of steam in front of the cone likely indicates the location of hot lava flow. There was no record of Holocene activity at Montagu until satellite data, beginning in late 2001, revealed thermal anomalies consistent with lava lake activity.
This 13 January 2006 view of the north side of Montagu Island shows the lava field formed by a recent eruption. A plume rising above Mount Belinda appears to be dominantly composed of steam. The snaking plume of steam in front of the cone likely indicates the location of hot lava flow. There was no record of Holocene activity at Montagu until satellite data, beginning in late 2001, revealed thermal anomalies consistent with lava lake activity. · Photo: Photo courtesy of Dave Hall, Frikkie Viljoen and Ian Hunter, 2006 (SA Argulhas and South African Weather Service).
Type
Shield volcano
Country
United Kingdom
Region
Antarctic-Scotia Volcanic Regions / South Sandwich Volcanic Arc
Elevation
1370m
Coordinates
-58.445, -26.374
Last eruption
2007
Tectonic setting
Subduction zone / Oceanic crust (< 15 km)
Landform
Shield
Major rock type
Basalt / Picro-Basalt
Geological summary

The largest of the South Sandwich Islands, Montagu consists of a massive shield volcano cut by a 6-km-wide ice-filled summit caldera. The summit of the 11 x 15 km island rises about 3,000 m from the sea floor between Bristol and Saunders Islands. Around 90% of the island is ice-covered; glaciers extending to the sea typically form vertical ice cliffs. The name Mount Belinda has been applied both to the high point at the southern end of the summit caldera and to the young central cone. Mount Oceanite, an isolated peak at the SE tip of the island, was the source of lava flows exposed at Mathias Point and Allen Point. There was no record of Holocene activity until MODIS satellite data, beginning in late 2001, revealed thermal anomalies consistent with lava lake activity. Apparent plumes and single anomalous pixels were observed intermittently on AVHRR images from March 1995 to February 1998, possibly indicating earlier volcanic activity.

From Wikipedia

Montagu Island is the largest of the South Sandwich Islands, located in the Scotia Sea off the coast of Antarctica. Almost entirely ice-covered with only sparse rocky outcrops, Montagu consists of a large caldera with a large parasitic cone, Mount Oceanite. Several secondary volcanic cones have formed in the caldera, including Mount Belinda.

Wikipedia · CC BY-SA · Read full article →

Eruption history

Summary (VEI over time)
Click a bar to see individual eruptions
1996~1997 · 1 eruptions · max VEI 12001~2001 · 1 eruptions · max VEI 119961997199920002001

Detailed timeline

  1. 2001VEI 1Observed
    2001-10-01 – 2007-09-20
    NW of Mount Belinda
  2. 1996VEI 1Geological estimate
    1996-09-01 – Ongoing

External links

⚠ For reference only. Not for emergency response.