Hunter Island

About Hunter Island

Hunter Island, the SE-most volcano of the New Hebrides arc, is a 1-km-wide island consisting of a composite andesitic-to-dacitic cone topped by explosion craters and a lava dome. The island was named after the English trading ship that reported sighting it in 1798. A 100-m-deep, steep-sided crater occupies the NW part of the island, which contrasts with the southern cone, whose summit is filled by a lava dome. Several poorly documented eruptions have been noted since the 19th century. Large streams of lava were reported to be pouring from two craters on the eastern side of the island in 1895; the latest eruption apparently took place from the northern tip. Fumarolic and solfataric areas are located at the northern tip of the island and the NE and SE coasts.