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Report on Bulusan (Philippines) — August 1980


Bulusan

Scientific Event Alert Network Bulletin, vol. 5, no. 8 (August 1980)
Managing Editor: David Squires.

Bulusan (Philippines) Explosions and seismicity continue

Please cite this report as:

Global Volcanism Program, 1980. Report on Bulusan (Philippines) (Squires, D., ed.). Scientific Event Alert Network Bulletin, 5:8. Smithsonian Institution. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.GVP.SEAN198008-273010



Bulusan

Philippines

12.769°N, 124.056°E; summit elev. 1535 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


Occasional explosions continued through late August. Four explosions have occurred since last month, on 30 July (the strongest) and 1, 5, and 24 August. Ash-laden steam clouds rose 4-7 km above the summit, depositing ash as much as 14 km from the crater. The maximum measured ashfall thickness was 3.5 mm. The explosions were preceded by earthquakes of intensities I-IV on the MRF scale, continuing the seismicity that began on 6 July. As of 28 August, occasional felt events were continuing.

Geological Summary. Luzon's southernmost volcano, Bulusan, was constructed along the rim of the 11-km-diameter dacitic-to-rhyolitic Irosin caldera, which was formed about 36,000 years ago. It lies at the SE end of the Bicol volcanic arc occupying the peninsula of the same name that forms the elongated SE tip of Luzon. A broad, flat moat is located below the topographically prominent SW rim of Irosin caldera; the NE rim is buried by the andesitic complex. Bulusan is flanked by several other large intracaldera lava domes and cones, including the prominent Mount Jormajan lava dome on the SW flank and Sharp Peak to the NE. The summit is unvegetated and contains a 300-m-wide, 50-m-deep crater. Three small craters are located on the SE flank. Many moderate explosive eruptions have been recorded since the mid-19th century.

Information Contacts: O. Peña, COMVOL, Quezon City.