Mount Tavurvur

Mount Tavurvur, Papua New Guinea

Tavurvur volcano is one of the most active stratovolcano and most dangerous volcano in Papua New Guinea that lies near Rabaul on the island of New Britain. It's a sub vent of the Rabaul Caldera that lies on the eastern larger rim feature. The Eruption of the volcano totally destroyed the town nearby Rabaul in 1994.

Rabaul exploded ferociously last 1994 and shocked the lively city of Rabaul. Since the young cone of Tavurvur was located inside the caldera and has been the site near persistent activity in form of vulcanian and strombolian ash eruption. Caldera has a cryptic form 14 x by 9 km and surrounded by a sudden volcanic ridge quite a few hundred meters high and erupted just on Friday, August 29, 2014.

The Volcanic activity inside caldera since the last caldera forming eruption produced a variety of lavas range from basaltic to dacitic. Several vents have built residue cones, including the historical active Tavurvur and Vulcan. Other vents which includes Turanguna, Sulphur Creek, Rabalanakia, Kombiu, and Beehives. Last 1994, Tavurvur and Vulcan erupted simultaneously, forcing the temporary rejection of Rabaul city.

The 8 x 14 km caldera was created by at least two major eruptions. One about 7100 years ago created Tavui caldera off shore to the north and a second eruption about 1400 years ago formed the current day shape. Plinian eruptions deposited thick tuff layers from pyroclastic flows that form the gentle outer slope of the volcanic compound.

Last September 19, 1994 in the morning two volcanic cones on the opposed sides of the 6 km Rabaul caldera begun erupting with the warning. The discovery of Space Shuttle flew just east of the eruption about 24 hours after in progress and near the climax of its activity. At the bottom of the eruption column is a layer of yellow and brown ash being scattered by lower level winds. A sharp edge moving away from the center of the eruption in the lower cloud is a pound of laterally moving ash which outcome from a volcanic blast. A tiny phreatic eruption at Tavurvur in 1937 consist of an aggressive mist explosion that wretched out the main central depression. In 1993, the main focus of eruption was at Vulcan, a new vent at Rabaul. At least 441 people were killed by pyroclastic flow and tephra in the 1937 eruption. A temperate sized unstable eruption (VEI=2) begun at Tavurvur on June 6, 1941. Perceptible ancestor activity began 16 months earlier. Tavurvur also erupt in late 1943. It was the last eruption at Tavurvur preceding to the 1994 outbreak. 

Tavurvur become constant to produce explosions in early 1995. Bigger explosions produced plume that rose 3 km above the cone. Some of the explosion throw blocks about 1,700 feet to the bay. The lightning was seen in some of the explosion clouds. In March, a lava mass was practical inside the crater of Tavurvur. In April, eruption stopped at Tavurvur and citizens returned to the city of Rabaul. A single death, cause by flooding, was allied with the explosion.