Cagua Volcano is one of the active volcanoes of the Philippines. It has erupted twice in recorded history.

Geography

Cagua, one of the active volcanoes in the Philippines

Active volcanoes in the Philippines

Active is commonly termed for volcanoes with historical eruptions. Moreover, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology classify active volcanoes in the country as having erupted within historical times , with accounts of these eruptions documented by man; or having erupted within the...

, is located in the province

Provinces of the Philippines

The Provinces of the Philippines are the primary political and administrative divisions of the Philippines. There are 80 provinces at present, further subdivided into component cities and municipalities. The National Capital Region, as well as independent cities, are autonomous from any provincial...

 of Cagayan

Cagayan

Cagayan , the "Land of Smiling Beauty", is a province of the Philippines in the Cagayan Valley region in Luzon. Its capital is Tuguegarao City and is located at the northeastern corner of the island of Luzon. Cagayan also includes the Babuyan Islands to the north. The province borders Ilocos Norte...

. Specifically, it lies in the Cagayan Valley

Cagayan Valley

Cagayan Valley is a region of the Philippines, also designated as Region II or Region 02. It is composed of five provinces, namely: Batanes, Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, and Quirino...

 region

Regions of the Philippines

In the Philippines, regions are administrative divisions that serve primarily to organize the provinces of the country for administrative convenience. Currently, the archipelagic republic of the Philippines is divided into 17 regions...

, of northern Luzon

Luzon

Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...

 island. Part of the Cordillera del Kate, a sub-group of the Caraballo Mountains

Caraballo Mountains

Caraballo Mountains is a mountain range in the central part of Luzon, Philippines. It is located between Cordillera Central and Sierra Madre mountain ranges, at .This Caraballo Mountains are the location of the headwaters of the Cagayan River....

, it lies in a region of active volcanism which probably originates from a fault between Babuyanes

Babuyan Islands

The Babuyan Islands form an archipelago located in the Luzon Strait north of Luzon island in the Philippines. It is separated from Luzon by the Babuyan Channel and from the Batanes Islands to its north by the Balintang Channel....

 and Luzon. Though there is a more evident seismic record between northeast Luzon and the islands, volcanoes occur on the northwestern side of the island. Evidence of a correlation between the two islands includes agglomerate

Agglomerate

Agglomerates are coarse accumulations of large blocks of volcanic material that contain at least 75% bombs...

s from multiple volcanoes and pebbles of andesitic lava throughout the region.

Geology

Activity of the early Pleistocene erupted basalt

Basalt

Basalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey...

ic andesite

Andesite

Andesite is an extrusive igneous, volcanic rock, of intermediate composition, with aphanitic to porphyritic texture. In a general sense, it is the intermediate type between basalt and dacite. The mineral assemblage is typically dominated by plagioclase plus pyroxene and/or hornblende. Magnetite,...

 or effusive basalt. The volcano was covered by enormous lava flows from 600,000 to 300,000 years ago. It has seen activity ranging from phreatic

Phreatic

The term phreatic is used in Earth sciences to refer to matters relating to ground water below the water table . The term 'phreatic surface' indicates the location where the pore water pressure is under atmospheric conditions...

 eruptions to ash flows

Volcanic ash

Volcanic ash consists of small tephra, which are bits of pulverized rock and glass created by volcanic eruptions, less than in diameter. There are three mechanisms of volcanic ash formation: gas release under decompression causing magmatic eruptions; thermal contraction from chilling on contact...

. The volcano is topped by a 1.5 kilometre (0.93205910497471 mi) wide crater marked by sharp and precipitous walls.

It has six hot springs

Hot Springs

Hot Springs may refer to:* Hot Springs, Arkansas** Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas*Hot Springs, California**Hot Springs, Lassen County, California**Hot Springs, Modoc County, California**Hot Springs, Placer County, California...

. Maasok near the crater; Marafil in the northwest; Manaring, 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) north-northeast; San Jose, 10 km (6.2 mi) north-northeast; Kabinlangan, 3 km (1.9 mi) northwest and Paminta, 2 km (1.2 mi) north-northwest.

Eruptive activity

Two historical eruptions have taken place at the volcano. Activity in 1860 was largely phreatic though it was possibly followed by a pyroclastic flow. Renewed solfataric eruptions took place in 1907.

See also

• Active volcanos in the Philippines
• Potentially active volcanos in the Philippines
• Inactive volcanos in the Philippines
• Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology
  Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology
  The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology is a Philippine national institution dedicated to provide information on the activities of volcanoes, earthquakes and tsunamis, as well as other specialized information and services primarily for the protection of life and property and in...
  
  
• Volcano
  Volcano
  2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...