Billy Mitchell (volcano)

Billy Mitchell volcano
The dark-colored caldera lake of Billy Mitchell is at right, above an ash plume originating from Bagana.
Highest point
Elevation1,544 m (5,066 ft)
Coordinates6°06′S 155°13′E / 6.100°S 155.217°E / -6.100; 155.217
Geography
Billy Mitchell volcano is located in Papua New Guinea
Billy Mitchell volcano
Billy Mitchell volcano
Parent rangeEmperor Range
Geology
Mountain typePyroclastic shield
Volcanic arc/beltBougainville & Solomon Is.
Last eruption1580 ± 20 years
Billy Mitchell
Billy Mitchell is located in Bougainville Island
Billy Mitchell
Billy Mitchell
LocationBougainville Island
Coordinates6°06′00″S 155°13′00″E / 6.1°S 155.21667°E / -6.1; 155.21667 (Billy Mitchel (crater lake))
Typecrater lake
Basin countriesPapua New Guinea
Surface area~3 square kilometres (1.2 sq mi)[1]
Max. depth~90 metres (300 ft)[1]

Billy Mitchell is a pyroclastic shield in the central part of the island of Bougainville, just north-east of the Bagana Volcano in Papua New Guinea. It is a small pyroclastic shield truncated by a 2 km wide caldera filled by a crater lake.[2] It is named after Billy Mitchell, a 20th-century United States Army general who is regarded as the father of the United States Air Force.

The last two major eruptions were in 1580 AD ± 20 years and about 1030 AD. They were among the largest Holocene eruptions in Papua New Guinea. Both were explosive eruptions with a Volcanic Explosivity Index of at least 5. The 1580 AD ± 20 years eruption produced pyroclastic flows and probably formed its caldera.[3] The ignimbrite deposit from that eruption, which had a VEI of 6, extends 22 kilometres (14 mi) from the caldera to the coast, and its volume is around 10 cubic kilometres (2.4 cu mi).[1]

Caldera lake

Billy Mitchell caldera lake is about 1,013 m above sea level, has total surface area 3 km2 (1.2 sq mi), and the maximum depth approximately 88.3 m. The only fish species in the lake is the eel Anguilla megastoma. [4] Billy Mitchell lake drains into the Tekan River.[5]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c The Billy Mitchell volcano at VolcanoLive.com
  2. ^ "Billy Mitchell". Global Volcanism Program. Smithsonian Institution.
  3. ^ The Billy Mitchell erupts at the Global Volcanism Program website
  4. ^ Robert Schabetsberger, Ursula Sichrowsky, Alexander Scheck, Michael Schagerl, Barbara Mähnert, Bettina Sonntag, Karin Pall First Limnological Characterization of Crater Lake Billy Mitchell (Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea) Pacific Science, 71(1):29-44 (2017). https://doi.org/10.2984/71.1.3
  5. ^ Billy Mitchell volcano VolcanoDiscovery


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