Volcanoes on the Solomon Islands
With 3 volcanoes on the Solomon Islands there have been a total of 7 significant eruptions over the past 500 years. Over 1,000 people were killed. The worst volcanic eruption in terms of deaths, destroyed houses and financial damages happened on 01/01/1568 with the eruption of "Savo".Out of 5 volcanos on the Solomon Islands, 3 are considered still active. Additionally there is one active submarine volcano off the coast.
Other natural hazards on the Solomon Islands:
› Earthquake
› Tsunamis
› Cyclones
› Current volcanoes worldwide
Back to overview: Solomon Islands
The Solomon Islands are located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, which stretches for about 40,000 km around the Pacific Ocean. Here the tectonic plate of the Pacific collides with several surrounding continental plates and seismic tremors occur again and again. Most of the world's volcanic eruptions, which are also the most severe, occur in this zone.
The highest explosivity index on the Solomon Islands reached in the review period was VEI 3 in 1966. The volcano Tinakula threw tephramasses of at least 10 million cubic meters over 3 kilometers high. Volcanoes of this size can theoretically erupt at this intensity every year.
Significant volcanic eruptions on the Solomon Islands in the last 500 years
The following list shows all volcanic eruptions of the last 500 years with significant damage. The column "VEI" stands for the volcano explosivity index, which represents the strength of the eruption from a geological point of view. This takes into account the height and volume of the rocks ejected. The scale ranges from 0-8, with the severity of the eruption increasing tenfold with each value. For example, a VEI of 1 means that the volcano throws lava and rock masses of 100,000 to 1 million cubic meters up to 1 kilometer high. From VEI 8, a volcano is considered a super volcano. Here, more than 1,000 cubic kilometers of tephra are thrown to altitudes of more than 25 kilometers.The highest explosivity index on the Solomon Islands reached in the review period was VEI 3 in 1966. The volcano Tinakula threw tephramasses of at least 10 million cubic meters over 3 kilometers high. Volcanoes of this size can theoretically erupt at this intensity every year.
Eruption | Volcano | VEI | Deaths | Total damage |
---|---|---|---|---|
09/06/1971 | Tinakula | 2 | 0 | |
01/13/1966 | Tinakula | 3 | 0 | |
01/01/1951 | Kavachi | 2 | 0 | |
03/26/1897 | Tinakula | 2 | 0 | |
01/01/1840 | Savo | 3 | 0 | |
01/01/1840 | Tinakula | 3 | 0 | |
01/01/1568 | Savo | 3 | 1001 |
All volcanoes on the Solomon Islands
Volcano | Elevation | Status | Last eruption |
---|---|---|---|
Kovachi | Active | ||
Paraza Sulfur Field | 800 m | Solfatara stage | |
Savo | 510 m | Active | 01/01/1840 |
Simbo | 312 m | Solfatara stage | |
Tinakula | 650 m | Active |
These statistics are based on datas from the Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanism Program (GVP), and the Significant Volcanic Eruptions Database of the National Geophysical Data Center (NOAA) / World Data Service (NGDC/WDS) doi:10.7289/V5JW8BSH. Several data have been summarized and translated.