Soufrière Hills
| Soufrière Hills | |
|---|---|
Soufrière Hills (before July 2007) | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 1,050 m (3,440 ft)[1] |
| Prominence | 1,050 m (3,440 ft)[2] |
| Listing | Ribu |
| Coordinates | 16°43′N 62°11′W / 16.717°N 62.183°W |
| Geography | |
Soufrière Hills Montserrat, Caribbean | |
| Country | Montserrat |
| Geology | |
| Formed by | Subduction zone volcanism |
| Mountain type | Stratovolcano |
| Volcanic arc | Lesser Antilles Volcanic Arc |
| Last eruption | 2013[3] |
The Soufrière Hills (/ˈsuːfriɛər/)[4] is an active, complex stratovolcano with many lava domes forming its summit on the Caribbean island of Montserrat. After a long period of dormancy, the Soufrière Hills volcano became active in 1995 and continued to erupt until 2010.[5] Its last eruption was in 2013.[3] Its eruptions have rendered more than half of Montserrat uninhabitable, destroying the capital city, Plymouth, and causing widespread evacuations: about two-thirds of the population have left the island.[6] Chances Peak in the Soufrière Hills was the highest summit on Montserrat until the mid-1990s, but it has since been eclipsed by various rising and falling volcanic domes during the recent volcanic activity.[7]
The volcano is andesitic in nature, and the current pattern of activity includes periods of lava dome growth, punctuated by brief episodes of dome collapse which result in pyroclastic flows, ash venting, and explosive eruption. The volcano is monitored by the Montserrat Volcano Observatory. Volcanic gas emissions from this volcano are measured by a multi-component gas analyzer system, which detects pre-eruptive degassing of rising magmas, improving prediction of volcanic activity.[8]
The Centre Hills in the central part of the island and the Silver Hills in the north are older volcanic massifs related to the subduction zone. There are three main parts of the island: the central zone, subduction and exclusion.[9]
- ^ Height before the 1995 eruption was 915 m. The eruptions since 1995 have formed a lava dome that has increased the height to 1050 m (2015 estimate): see The CIA World Factbook on Montserrat.
- ^ "World Ribus – Caribbean Area". World Ribus. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
- ^ a b "Soufrière Hills". Global Volcanism Program. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
- ^ "MVO director Dr. Graham Ryan closes Montserrat Volcano Observatory week". YouTube. Outreach at Montserrat Volcano Observatory MVO. September 2020. Retrieved 10 January 2025.
- ^ "Montserrat: Volcanism". UWI Seismic Research Centre. Retrieved 2024-06-04.
- ^ "The 1997 Soufriere Hills Eruption".
- ^ "Montserrat". Encyclopedia Britannica. 7 April 2023.
- ^ Christopher, Thomas; Edmonds, Marie; Humphreys, Madeleine C. S.; Herd, Richard A. (2010). "Volcanic gas emissions from Soufrière Hills Volcano, Monserrat 1995–2009, with implications for mafic magma supply and degassing, Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 37" (PDF). Geophysical Research Letters. 37 (19): n/a. Bibcode:2010GeoRL..37.0E04C. doi:10.1029/2009GL041325.
- ^ "Volcanic History of Montserrat". Montserrat Volcano Observatory. 10 July 2009. Archived from the original on 11 February 2011. Retrieved 17 December 2010.