Mount Parker (Cotabato)
Encyclopedia
Mount Parker, locally known as Melibengoy, is a stratovolcano
Stratovolcano
A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a tall, conical volcano built up by many layers of hardened lava, tephra, pumice, and volcanic ash. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile and periodic, explosive eruptions...

 on Mindanao
Mindanao
Mindanao is the second largest and easternmost island in the Philippines. It is also the name of one of the three island groups in the country, which consists of the island of Mindanao and smaller surrounding islands. The other two are Luzon and the Visayas. The island of Mindanao is called The...

 island in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

 (6°06.8' N, 124°53.5' E). It is located in the province of South Cotabato
South Cotabato
South Cotabato is a province of the Philippines located in the SOCCSKSARGEN region in Mindanao. Its capital is Koronadal City, and it borders Sultan Kudarat to the north and west, Sarangani to the south and east, and Davao del Sur to the east...

, 30 kilometers west of General Santos City
General Santos City
The City of General Santos is the southernmost port city of the Philippines. Being a highly urbanized first class city, GenSan is one of the most populous urban centers in the country with a population of 679,588 as per census data of 2010...

 and 44 kilometers south of Koronadal City
Koronadal City
Koronadal, also known as Marbel is a 1st class city in the Philippines. It is the capital of South Cotabato province and regional center of region 12. According to the 2009 census, it had a population of 184,573....

.

The volcano's English name is taken from an American General, General Frank Parker, who spotted the mountain and claimed to have "discovered" it during a flight he piloted in 1934. General Parker led an expedition up to the lake in the mountain's crater with other US colonial and Filipino government officials, including Vice-Governor-General Joseph Ralston Hayden and Provincial Governor Gutierrez, in the fall of 1934.

Physical features

The elevation is given as 1,784 meters by some sources and as 1,824 meters by others. The 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...

 has an elevation of and a base diameter of 40 km. It has a 2.9-km-wide caldera with steep walls that rise 200-500m above the crater lake
Crater lake
A crater lake is a lake that forms in a volcanic crater or caldera, such as a maar; less commonly and with lower association to the term a lake may form in an impact crater caused by a meteorite. Sometimes lakes which form inside calderas are called caldera lakes, but often this distinction is not...

 that is now called Lake Maughan. The lake, which is officially called Lake Holon, was named after another American who was with Parker when he crashed.

Melibengoy is considered one of the sacred places of the T'boli tribe. It hosts a rare species, Parantica dannatti reyesi, which was discovered by the late Professor Josue de los Reyes of Notre Dame of Marbel University and published in the Entomological Journal of Senckerburg Research Institute in December 1994.

Government officials have also confirmed sightings of the Philippine Tarsier
Philippine Tarsier
The Philippine Tarsier , known locally as the Kupal in Cebuano/Visayan and Mamag in Luzon, is an endangered species of tarsier endemic to the Philippines. It is found in the southeastern part of the archipelago, particularly in the islands of Bohol, Samar, Leyte and Mindanao...

, Tarsius syrichta which can supposedly be found in the barangays surrounding Lake Holon.

Eruptions

Mount Parker is believed to have erupted thrice over the past 3,800 years, the last one on January 4, 1641. The 1641 eruption caused the formation of the crater lake.

On September 6, 1995, local officials reported what they believed was volcanic activity at Lake Maughan. The alleged activity caused landslides and floodings along Ga-o River which drains Lake Maughan and joins Allah River in the north. Due to this phenomenon, the 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...

 installed monitoring equipment which established that the so-called activity was man-made.

Less than a year after the 1995 activity, a temporary dam was formed at about 250 m from the outlet of Lake Maughan, alarming the residents within the area due to fear of flashfloods. The deposited debris dammed the flowing Ga-o River and caused the lake level to rise by about 6 meters.

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...

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK