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Report on Langila (Papua New Guinea) — January 1999


Langila

Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network, vol. 24, no. 1 (January 1999)
Managing Editor: Richard Wunderman.

Langila (Papua New Guinea) Continuous white vapor with occasional ash emissions from Crater 2

Please cite this report as:

Global Volcanism Program, 1999. Report on Langila (Papua New Guinea) (Wunderman, R., ed.). Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network, 24:1. Smithsonian Institution. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.GVP.BGVN199901-252010



Langila

Papua New Guinea

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

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


Mild, intermittent, eruptive activity continued at Crater 2 in January, while Crater 3 remained quiet. Crater 2 emitted continuous white vapor with occasional mild emissions of pale gray to brown ash clouds. During 1-4 January most ash emissions were accompanied by low rumbling and roaring sounds. The emissions rose to about 500 m above the summit before blowing to the SE. There was no seismic recording during the month.

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: Herman Patia, RVO.