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Report on Langila (Papua New Guinea) — July 1996


Langila

Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network, vol. 21, no. 7 (July 1996)
Managing Editor: Richard Wunderman.

Langila (Papua New Guinea) Low-level activity persists

Please cite this report as:

Global Volcanism Program, 1996. Report on Langila (Papua New Guinea) (Wunderman, R., ed.). Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network, 21:7. Smithsonian Institution. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.GVP.BGVN199607-252010



Langila

Papua New Guinea

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

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


During July, Crater 2 continued its low-level eruptive activity and Crater 3 remained quiet. Crater 2 emitted gray to brown ash clouds, which rose several hundred meters above the crater. The ash clouds were blown to the NW and produced light ashfall. The emissions were accompanied by rumbling and explosion sounds. On most nights in July, variable glows were observed around the crater. Small incandescent lava fragments were ejected on 12 July.

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: B. Talai, D. Lolok, and C. McKee, RVO.