Ambae (Vanuatu)

Status Unknown Eruption 2019 1496m
Shield (Subduction zone / Intermediate crust (15-25 km))

The island of Ambae, also known as Aoba, is a massive 2500 km3 basaltic shield that is the most voluminous volcano of the New Hebrides archipelago. A pronounced NE-SW-trending rift zone dotted with scoria cones gives the 16 x 38 km island an elongated form. A broad pyroclastic cone containing three crater lakes (Manaro Ngoru, Voui, and Manaro Lakua) is located at the summit within the youngest of at least two nested calderas, the largest of which is 6 km in diameter. That large central edifice is also called Manaro Voui or Lombenben volcano. Post-caldera explosive eruptions formed the summit craters about 360 years ago. A tuff cone was constructed within Lake Voui (or Vui) about 60 years later. The latest known flank eruption, about 300 years ago, destroyed the population of the Nduindui area near the western coast.

Two lakes of variable color lie with the summit caldera of Aoba (Ambae) volcano, as seen in this aerial view from the west. The light blue lake in the foreground is Lake Voui (or Vui), which is enclosed in the crater of a tuff ring in the summit caldera. The dark blue Lake Manaro Lakua lies between the tuff ring and the eastern caldera wall. Aoba, the most voluminous volcano of the New Hebrides archipelago, forms a 16 x 38 km elongated island. Pentecost Island appears in the background.

Photo by Karoly Nemeth, 2005 (Massey University).

Last updated 2022-02-17 05:00:02