DESCRIPTION:
Philippines Volcanoes and Volcanics

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Map, Major Volcanoes of the Philippines

The beautifully symmetrical Mayon volcano, which rises to 2,462 meters above the Albay Gulf, is the Philippines' most active volcano. The structurally simple volcano has steep upper slopes that average 35-40 degrees and is capped by a small summit crater. The historical eruptions of this basaltic-andesitic volcano date back to 1616 and range from Strombolian to basaltic Plinian. Eruptions occur predominately from the central conduit and have also produced lava flows that travel far down the flanks. Pyroclastic flows and mudflows have commonly swept down many of the approximately 40 ravines that radiate from the summit and have often devastated populated lowland areas.

Pinatubo Volcano Menu

Taal Volcano
Location: Luzon, Philippines
Latitude: 14.002 N
Longitude: 120.993 E
Height: 400 meters
Type: Stratovolcano

The eruption of Taal Volcano in the Philippine Islands in 1965 typifies "Phreatic" (or steam-blast) behavior. Here, a great column of steam, dust, ash, and cinders is blasted to a height of several thousand feet. This type of violent eruption is believed to occur when a large quantity of ground or surface water comes in contact with hot rock or magma in a volcanic vent and is instantly and explosively flashed to steam.

This is an image of Taal volcano, near Manila on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. The black area in the center is Taal Lake, which nearly fills the 30-kilometer-diameter (18- mile) caldera. The caldera rim consists of deeply eroded hills and cliffs. The large island in Taal Lake, which itself contains a crater lake, is known as Volcano Island. The bright yellow patch on the southwest side of the island marks the site of an explosion crater that formed during a deadly eruption of Taal in 1965. The image was acquired by the Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C/X-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR) aboard the space shuttle Endeavour on its 78th orbit on October 5, 1994. The image shows an area approximately 56 kilometers by 112 kilometers (34 miles by 68 miles) that is centered at 14.0 degrees north latitude and 121.0 degrees east longitude. North is toward the upper right of the image.

Link to: NASA Website for Taal Volcano Image

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