In News: Recently, a volcano on the eastern Caribbean island of St. Vincent has experienced an “explosive eruption,” hours after increased activity at the mountain triggered a mandatory evacuation of nearby residents.
La Soufrière Volcano
- La Soufrière or Soufrière Saint Vincent is an active volcano on the island of Saint Vincent in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
- It is the highest peak in Saint Vincent, and has had five recorded explosive eruptions since 1718, most recently in April 2021. It violently erupted in 1718, 1812,1902, 1979, and 2021
- Soufrière is a stratovolcano with a crater lake and is the island’s youngest and northernmost volcano.
- Increased volcanic activity was observed in December 2020; a new dome formed inside the crater.
- Many volcanoes in the Caribbean are named Soufrière. These include Soufrière Hills on Montserrat and La Grande Soufrière en Guadeloupe.
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- Known simply as Saint Vincent, is an island country in the Caribbean.
- It is located in the southeast Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, which lie in the West Indies at the southern end of the eastern border of the Caribbean Sea where the latter meets the Atlantic Ocean.
- Its 369 km2 (142 sq mi) territory consists of the main island of Saint Vincent and the northern two-thirds of the Grenadines, a chain of 32 smaller islands.
- Most of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines lies within Hurricane Alley.
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is a densely populated country for its size over 300 inhabitants/km2.
- Saint Vincent has a British colonial history, and is now part of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States, CARICOM, the Commonwealth of Nations, the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).
Source: The Hindu & The New York Time
