Late Volcano
Updated: Apr 20, 2024 11:09 GMT -
Stratovolcano 540 m / 1,772 ft
Tonga, Tonga Islands, -18.81°S / -174.65°W
Current status: normal or dormant (1 out of 5)
Tonga, Tonga Islands, -18.81°S / -174.65°W
Current status: normal or dormant (1 out of 5)
Last update: 7 Dec 2022 (Smithsonian / USGS Weekly Volcanic Activity Report)
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Late volcano eruptions: 1854
Latest nearby earthquakes
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Background
The small, 6-km-wide circular island of Late, lying along the Tofua volcanic arc about 55 km WSW of the island of Vavau, contains a 400-m-wide, 150-m-deep summit crater with an ephemeral lake. The largely submerged basaltic-andesite to andesitic volcano rises 1500 m from the sea floor, with its conical summit reaching 540 m above sea level. Cinder cones are found north of the summit crater, west and north of a semicircular plateau 100-150 m below the summit, and on the NW coast. A graben-like structure on the NE flank contains two large pit craters, the lower of which is partially filled by a saltwater lake. Only two eruptions have occurred in historical time, both from NE-flank craters, which produced explosive activity and possible lava flows in 1790 and 1854.---
Smithsonian / GVP volcano information
Late Volcano Photos
On 25 Nov, the lava level often rises to the rim of the ring wall, then descends again. Large spectacular bubbles burst. Note the intense heat blur and the formation of P...
The ash cloud expands and small pyroclastic flows develop from dense ash both ejected and whirled up by impacts on the upper flanks of the cone. (Photo: Jorge Santos)
A fraction of a second later, the largest blocks are falling onto the slope of the cone, leaving dense trails of ash behind in the air, while the ash cloud expands, parts...
Enormous lava bubbles burst within the crater with detonating booms, throwing truck-sized lava bombs to many hundreds meters in all directions. (Photo: Tom Pfeiffer)