A partially eroded pumice cone formed during an eruption that began on 7 August 2006 is seen from the N on 18 December. By the end of the year, wave erosion had destroyed the cone. Floating dacite pumice from this eruption traveled as far as Australia. Home Reef, a submarine volcano midway between Metis Shoal and Late Island in the central Tonga islands, was first reported active in the mid-19th century, when an ephemeral island formed.

Photo courtesy of Royal New Zealand Air Force and Institute of Geological & Nuclear Sciences, 2006.

This image is made available under the Creative Commons BY-NC 4.0 license terms.

Keywords: submarine volcano

Home Reef