East Epi

About East Epi

The submarine East Epi group of basaltic and dacitic cones are located within a possible 10-km-diameter caldera off the NE coast of southern Epi Island in Vanuatu. Three cones (1-1.5 basal diameter), known as Epi A, Epi B (or Cioan), and Epi C, are located along the northern rim of the inferred caldera, though Beier et al. (2018) suggest an alternate to the post-caldera formation model. A few smaller cones are south of Epi B. Ephemeral islands were formed during eruptions at Epi B in 1920 and 1953. Explosive activity was reported in 1958 and 1960, discolored water was often seen during 1971-1974 and 1988, a new vent was detected in 1979, and explosive activity occurred in 1999, 2002, 2004, and 2023. The summit was at 34 m below sea level at the time of a 2001 survey, and a research cruise in 2013 (R/V Sonne SO-229; Haase et al, 2013) sampled six cones, including "very fresh pumice and lava bombs" from Epi B and "relatively old-looking" material from the others. The SO-229 cruise also recovered rhyodacitic pumice with mafic streaks, similar to that sampled by previous cruises, and described Epi B as "covered by massive blocks of pumice."