Pinatubo (Philippines)

Status Normal Eruption 1993 1486m
Stratovolcano (Subduction zone / Continental crust (> 25 km))

Prior to 1991 Pinatubo volcano was a relatively unknown, heavily forested lava dome complex located 100 km NW of Manila with no records of historical eruptions. The 1991 eruption, one of the world's largest of the 20th century, ejected massive amounts of tephra and produced voluminous pyroclastic flows, forming a small, 2.5-km-wide summit caldera whose floor is now covered by a lake. Caldera formation lowered the height of the summit by more than 300 m. Although the eruption caused hundreds of fatalities and major damage with severe social and economic impact, successful monitoring efforts greatly reduced the number of fatalities. Widespread lahars that redistributed products of the 1991 eruption have continued to cause severe disruption. Previous major eruptive periods, interrupted by lengthy quiescent periods, have produced pyroclastic flows and lahars that were even more extensive than in 1991.

The 1991 eruption of Pinatubo volcano in the Philippines created a new caldera with an average diameter of 2.5 km. Caldera collapse, which lowered the height of the volcano about 300 m, occurred following the ejection of nearly 10 cu km of tephra in one of the world's largest eruptions of the 20th century. This 1994 view from the NW shows a lake filling the caldera floor and two small islands from a partially submerged lava dome that was erupted in 1992.

Photo by Ray Punungbayan, 1994 (Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology).

Last updated 2021-11-30 10:00:01