Friday, March 6, 2015

Preparing for a Volcanic Eruption on Saba

Saba, Lesser Antilles, Nederlands - Mount Scenery.   The northernmost active (strato) volcano of the West Indies and the Lesser Antilles Volcanic Arc has Pyroclastic Flows and last erupted in 1636 is on an Holocene lava dome island eight miles (13km) square which rises 1500 km above the seafloor, and formed 100,000 years ago.  In case of volcanic eruptions, the best case scenario would be evacuation from the island's less than two thousand souls from the world's smallest airport (Flat Point Peninsula) as soon as possible.  FEMA on volcanic readiness: HERE on The Mountain

The Airport...

Information  The Volcano on Saba, Mount Scenery, or more simply The Mountain rises to 887m has a large number of Pelean Domes, or pyroclastic deposits, the largest and last of which is the Mount itself, partially covering a sector collapse scar which runs southwest on which the capital sits.  Offshore are other Pelaean domes one of which is only 23m below sea level.  Plinian and Asama style activity are indicated.  The island has a NE-SW ENE fault zone filled with magma  evidenced by hot springs located all along it. For more information see Saba Bank .

The Mountain From the Bottom

Evidence of the last volcanic eruption exists in a layer of ash carbon dated to 280 YA....


 
 


 

 


 


 

3 comments:

  1. Saba is located 542 miles south of Haiti.

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  2. it seems those mountains are very active and that their magma chambers are on the move...very interesting and scary post!

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  3. Living on Saba is living on the edge.

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