Activity/History

View of Vulcano:

Photograph by Chuck Wood.

Vulcano is a volcanic island located in the Tehrennian Sea off of the Coast of Italy. The island itself consists of several separate eruptive centers. “The older stratovolcano is just to the left of the center of the photo. Fossa cone, the most recently active vent, is near the center of the photo. Vulcanello, a young cone, is the foreground.” As most calderas form, Vulcano began with a large stratovolcano, which subsequently collapsed.

Source: http://www.volcanoworld.org/vwdocs/volc_images/europe_west_asia/vulcano.html

Geographic Setting of the crater formation of Vulcano:

Map of Vulcano compiled from Keller (1980) and Imbo (1965).

“The Fossa cone grew inside the Lentia caldera, as the picture reflects”. Vulcano is well known in its history for having produced many phreatic type eruptions. These eruptions subsequently produced lava flows and or pumice deposits, very indicative of the Vulcanian eruption style. Vulcano, has not erupted recently, but has had active fumarolic activity.

“Vulcano last erupted from 1888 to 1890. The eruption deposited 15 feet (5 m) of pyroclastic material at the summit of Fossa. Bombs about 3 feet (1 m) in diameter fell 0.6 miles (1 km) from the vent”.

http://www.volcanoworld.org/vwdocs/volc_images/europe_west_asia/vulcano.html

As Vulcanian eruptions go, Vulcano is usually quiet for a undefined period of time, before it suddenly roars to life. Usually the eruptions are very noisy, and begin with the ejecta of old material, from previous eruptions. Standard for a Vulcanian style eruption is the form of ash, and multiple types of bombs, such as “Breadcrust bombs” which are pretty indicative of a Vulcanian style of eruption. Vulcano, is very intermittent in its eruptive strategies. Vulcano will spew forth ejecta, however it will then stop for several seconds and or minutes, before the pressure builds and it resumes ejecting, lava, ash, and bombs.

Sources of Information:

http://www.volcanoworld.org/vwdocs/volc_images/europe_west_asia/vulcano.html Date last used May 6, 2004.