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Report on Langila (Papua New Guinea) — June 1995


Langila

Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network, vol. 20, no. 6 (June 1995)
Managing Editor: Richard Wunderman.

Langila (Papua New Guinea) Moderate emissions with some ash clouds

Please cite this report as:

Global Volcanism Program, 1995. Report on Langila (Papua New Guinea) (Wunderman, R., ed.). Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network, 20:6. Smithsonian Institution. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.GVP.BGVN199506-252010



Langila

Papua New Guinea

5.525°S, 148.42°E; summit elev. 1330 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


Eruptive activity was centered at Crater 2 throughout the month, and maintained a moderate level slightly lower than in May. These continuous to sub-continuous emissions were accompanied by occasional forceful, mushroom-shaped, light gray to brown ash clouds rising several hundreds of meters above the crater rim. Fine ashfalls extended ~10-15 km from the volcano to the N and NW coasts. Weak deep explosion and rumbling sounds were heard on 13, 20, 22, 23, and 30 June, with weak summit glow seen only on 30 June.

Activity at Crater 3 remained very quiet throughout the month although thin white vapor wisps were observed on 11, 14, and 27 June. Neither audible noises nor summit glow were noted. Throughout June no seismicity was recorded.

Geological Summary. Langila, one of the most active volcanoes of New Britain, consists of a group of four small overlapping composite basaltic-andesitic cones on the lower E flank of the extinct Talawe volcano in the Cape Gloucester area of NW New Britain. A rectangular, 2.5-km-long crater is breached widely to the SE; Langila was constructed NE of the breached crater of Talawe. An extensive lava field reaches the coast on the N and NE sides of Langila. Frequent mild-to-moderate explosive eruptions, sometimes accompanied by lava flows, have been recorded since the 19th century from three active craters at the summit. The youngest and smallest crater (no. 3 crater) was formed in 1960 and has a diameter of 150 m.

Information Contacts: Ima Itikarai and Ben Talai, RVO.