Authorities in the Cape Verde islands have oredered an evacuation of the sttlement of Chã das Caldeiras after Mount Fogo, an active volcano on Fogo Island, began erupting at about 10.00 am local time (about 11.00 am GMT) on Sunday 23 November 2014. Chã das Caldeiras lies within the caldera of Mount Fogo, making it highly vulnerable to eruptions; it is not clear if their have been any casualties as a result of the eruption. This is the first eruption on the volcano since April 1995.
Image of an ash coloumn over Mount Fogo seen from Praia on Santiago Islannd. RTC.
The entire island of Fogo is essentially the tip of a giant submarne volcano, reaching 2829 m above sea level and roughly 25 km across, with a 9 km diameter caldera in the center. The Cape Verde Islands are all volcanic in origin, sitting on a volcanic hotspot (an area where magma from deep inside the Earth is welling up through the overlying plate) located on the African Plate in the east Atlantic, roughly 600 km off the coast of Senegal.
See also...
The United States Geological Survey
has reported a Magnitude 4.2 Earthquake at a depth of 15 km on the Cape
St. Vincent Ridge, about 300 km to the west of...
The United States Geological Survey
recorded a Magnitude 5.4 Earthquake at a depth of 22.8 km roughly 31 km
to the northwest of the island of El Hierro in the Canaries, slightly
after 5.45 pm local time (which is GMT) on Friday 27 December 2013.
There are no...
When volcanic activity began off the south coast of El Hierro, in the Canary Islands, in October 2010, it led to the production of large plumes of pumice-like rocks that floated on the surface of the ocean, producing a distinctive volcanic 'stain'. Pumice is a volcanic rock which contains large vesicles (sealed, gas filled cavities) which cause it to float on the water, which is formed by superheated magma coming into contact with seawater and is a common product of submarine eruptions. However closer...
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When volcanic activity began off the south coast of El Hierro, in the Canary Islands, in October 2010, it led to the production of large plumes of pumice-like rocks that floated on the surface of the ocean, producing a distinctive volcanic 'stain'. Pumice is a volcanic rock which contains large vesicles (sealed, gas filled cavities) which cause it to float on the water, which is formed by superheated magma coming into contact with seawater and is a common product of submarine eruptions. However closer...
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