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Report on Kanlaon (Philippines) — September 1985


Kanlaon

Scientific Event Alert Network Bulletin, vol. 10, no. 9 (September 1985)
Managing Editor: Lindsay McClelland.

Kanlaon (Philippines) Small ash eruption with seismicity

Please cite this report as:

Global Volcanism Program, 1985. Report on Kanlaon (Philippines) (McClelland, L., ed.). Scientific Event Alert Network Bulletin, 10:9. Smithsonian Institution. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.GVP.SEAN198509-272020



Kanlaon

Philippines

10.412°N, 123.132°E; summit elev. 2435 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


On 5 October a small eruption produced an 800-m eruptive cloud, depositing ash on four nearby villages. A strong booming sound was reported to have preceded the eruption and earthquakes were felt during the eruption. Activity had declined to voluminous emission of white vapor on 8 October and weakened further the next day, but seismographs continued to record low-frequency events. PHIVOLCS declared a 4-km-diameter danger zone two weeks before the eruption, and residents of the zone were ordered to evacuate when the eruption began.

Geological Summary. Kanlaon volcano (also spelled Canlaon) forms the highest point on the island of Negros, Philippines. The massive andesitic stratovolcano is covered with fissure-controlled pyroclastic cones and craters, many of which are filled by lakes. The largest debris avalanche known in the Philippines traveled 33 km SW from Kanlaon. The summit contains a 2-km-wide, elongated northern caldera with a crater lake and a smaller but higher active vent, Lugud crater, to the south. Eruptions recorded since 1866 have typically consisted of phreatic explosions of small-to-moderate size that produce minor local ashfall.

Information Contacts: AFP.