La Soufrière (volcano)

La Soufrière (“The Sulfurer”) or Soufrière Saint Vincent is an active volcano on the island of Saint Vincent in the Windward Islands of the Caribbean.

Geography and structure
At , La Soufrière is the highest peak on Saint Vincent as well as the highest point in the island country of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

It is in the northern part of the island of Saint Vincent in the Saint David and Charlotte parishes. The mountain is surrounded by the towns of Wallibou and Chateaubelair to the southwest, Fancy to the north, Orange Hill and Georgetown to the southeast and the Richmond Peak and Mount Brisbane to the south.

Soufrière is an active composite volcano (or stratovolcano) with a lake in the crater and is the island's youngest and northernmost volcano. It has a main crater of 1.6 km in diameter, with the northeast edge cut by another smaller crater in 1812.

History
The first historical eruption of the volcano took place during 1718; it and the 1812 eruption produced major explosions. Much of the northern end of the island was devastated by a major eruption in 1902 that killed 1,680 people; this eruption was just hours before the eruption of Mount Pelée on Martinique.

Several volcanoes in the Caribbean are named Soufrière (French: "sulphur mine"). Two of them are Soufrière Hills on Montserrat and La Grande Soufrière on Guadeloupe.

On 9 April 2021, the volcano erupted causing over 20,000 to evacuate.

References

Other websites
 St. Vincent and The Grenadines: St. Vincent's Interior 
 The University of the West Indies Seismic Research Centre
 USGS/CVO West Indian Volcanoes 
 Volcano Live: Soufrière St. Vincent Volcano
 Volcano World: Soufriere St. Vincent

Category:Geography of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Category:Volcanoes of North America