Metis Shoal (Lateiki) volcano
Updated: Jun 2, 2023 05:21 GMT -
Submarine volcano 43 m / 141 ft
Tonga, Tonga Islands, -19.18°S / -174.87°W
Current status: normal or dormant (1 out of 5)
Tonga, Tonga Islands, -19.18°S / -174.87°W
Current status: normal or dormant (1 out of 5)
Last update: 10 Dec 2021 (Smithsonian / USGS Weekly Volcanic Activity Report)
Metis Shoal or officially renamed to Lateiki volcano is a submarine volcano midway between the islands of Kao and Late. It is frequently in eruption and has produced a series of ephemeral islands since the first confirmed activity in the mid-19th century.
Show interactive Map
[hide map] [enlarge]
Metis Shoal (Lateiki) volcano eruptions: 1995
Latest nearby earthquakes
No recent earthquakesBackground
An island, perhaps not in eruption, was reported in 1781 and subsequently was eroded away. During periods of inactivity following 20th-century eruptions, waves have been observed to break on rocky reefs or sandy banks with depths of 10 m or less. Dacitic tuff cones formed during the first 20th-century eruptions in 1967 and 1979 were soon eroded beneath the sea surface. An eruption in 1995 produced an island with a diameter of 280 m and a height of 43 m following growth of a lava dome above the surface.---
Smithsonian / GVP volcano information
See also: Sentinel hub | Landsat 8 | NASA FIRMS
