Heard
About Heard
Heard Island on the Kerguelen Plateau in the southern Indian Ocean consists primarily of the emergent portion of two volcanic structures. The large glacier-covered composite basaltic-to-trachytic cone of Big Ben comprises most of the island, and the smaller Mt. Dixon lies at the NW tip of the island across a narrow isthmus. Little is known about the structure of Big Ben because of its extensive ice cover. The active Mawson Peak forms the island's high point and lies within a 5-6 km wide caldera breached to the SW side of Big Ben. Small satellitic scoria cones are mostly located on the northern coast. Several subglacial eruptions have been reported at this isolated volcano, but observations are infrequent and additional activity may have occurred.
Eruption reports
Reports from GDACS and NASA EONET linked to this volcano.
No eruption reports in our records yet. New reports appear here automatically.
Earthquakes nearby, 30 days
Within about 50 km. Swarms of small quakes can sometimes accompany volcanic unrest.
No earthquakes recorded nearby in the last 30 days.