Bam

The 1.6 x 2.4 km island of Bam is the summit of a mostly submerged volcano in the Schouten Islands off the coast of New Guinea, ~40 km NNE of the mouth of the Sepik River. A steep-walled summit crater that is 300 m wide and 180 m deep is the source of recent eruptions, which have kept the upper half of the cone sparsely vegetated. A NE-trending landslide scarp extends across the upper part of the andesitic volcano from the SW coast, and a large submarine debris-avalanche deposits lies to the S and SW. The younger summit cone partially buries the eastern side of the collapse scarp. A recent lava platform on the N flank supports the small island's only villages. Eruptions recorded since 1872 have all consisted of small-to-moderate explosive activity from the summit crater.