Curacoa volcano
Encyclopedia
Curacoa is a submarine volcano
located south
of Curacoa Reef in northern Tonga
. Eruptions were observed in 1973 and 1979, from two separate vents. The 1973 eruption produced a large raft
of dacitic
pumice
. That eruption had a VEI
of 3.
Submarine volcano
Submarine volcanoes are underwater fissures in the Earth's surface from which magma can erupt. They are estimated to account for 75% of annual magma output. The vast majority are located near areas of tectonic plate movement, known as ocean ridges...
located south
South
South is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.South is one of the four cardinal directions or compass points. It is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to east and west.By convention, the bottom side of a map is south....
of Curacoa Reef in northern Tonga
Tonga
Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga , is a state and an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, comprising 176 islands scattered over of ocean in the South Pacific...
. Eruptions were observed in 1973 and 1979, from two separate vents. The 1973 eruption produced a large raft
Pumice raft
A pumice raft is a floating raft of pumice occasionally created by ocean-based volcanic activity.Volcanic activity in the South Pacific near Tonga on August 12, 2006 caused the emergence of a new island...
of dacitic
Dacite
Dacite is an igneous, volcanic rock. It has an aphanitic to porphyritic texture and is intermediate in composition between andesite and rhyolite. The relative proportions of feldspars and quartz in dacite, and in many other volcanic rocks, are illustrated in the QAPF diagram...
pumice
Pumice
Pumice is a textural term for a volcanic rock that is a solidified frothy lava typically created when super-heated, highly pressurized rock is violently ejected from a volcano. It can be formed when lava and water are mixed. This unusual formation is due to the simultaneous actions of rapid...
. That eruption had a VEI
Volcanic Explosivity Index
The Volcanic Explosivity Index was devised by Chris Newhall of the U.S. Geological Survey and Stephen Self at the University of Hawaii in 1982 to provide a relative measure of the explosiveness of volcanic eruptions....
of 3.