La Soufrière (volcano) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids La Soufrière |
|
|---|---|
| Soufrière Saint Vincent | |
 |
|
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 1,220 m (4,000 ft) |
| Geography | |
| Location |  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
| Geology | |
| Mountain type | Stratovolcano (active) |
| Last eruption | 1979 |
| Climbing | |
| Easiest route | From the Atlantic side |
La Soufrière (“The Sulfurer”) or Soufrière Saint Vincent is an active volcano on the island of Saint Vincent in the Windward Islands of the Caribbean.
Geography and structure
At 1,220 m (4,003 ft), La Soufrière is the highest peak on Saint Vincent as well as the highest point in the island country of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
It is in the northern part of the island of Saint Vincent in the Saint David and Charlotte parishes. The mountain is surrounded by the towns of Wallibou and Chateaubelair to the southwest, Fancy to the north, Orange Hill and Georgetown to the southeast and the Richmond Peak and Mount Brisbane to the south.
Soufrière is an active composite volcano (or stratovolcano) with a lake in the crater and is the island's youngest and northernmost volcano. It has a main crater of 1.6 km in diameter, with the northeast edge cut by another smaller crater in 1812.
History
The first historical eruption of the volcano took place during 1718; it and the 1812 eruption produced major explosions. Much of the northern end of the island was devastated by a major eruption in 1902 that killed 1,680 people; this eruption was just hours before the eruption of Mount Pelée on Martinique.
The last recorded eruption was in April 1979; due to advance warning there were no casualties.
Several volcanoes in the Caribbean are named Soufrière (French: "sulphur mine"). Two of them are Soufrière Hills on Montserrat and La Grande Soufrière on Guadeloupe.
Images for kids
-
Volcanic plume seen on 9 April 2021 by the Sentinel-3B satellite
_volcanic_ash_-_Sentinel-3.jpg)
See also
In Spanish: La Soufrière (San Vicente y las Granadinas) para niños
