Logo link to homepage

Report on Langila (Papua New Guinea) — April 1988


Langila

Scientific Event Alert Network Bulletin, vol. 13, no. 4 (April 1988)
Managing Editor: Lindsay McClelland.

Langila (Papua New Guinea) Small explosion ejects incandescent lava

Please cite this report as:

Global Volcanism Program, 1988. Report on Langila (Papua New Guinea) (McClelland, L., ed.). Scientific Event Alert Network Bulletin, 13:4. Smithsonian Institution. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.GVP.SEAN198804-252010



Langila

Papua New Guinea

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

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


"Activity continued at a low level throughout the month. Crater 2 occasionally emitted weak to moderate white vapours. Occasional deep, low, rumbling noises were heard throughout the month, and one deep explosion on 3 April was accompanied by a weak ejection of incandescent lava fragments. Crater 3 continued to be relatively inactive, with only weak vapour emissions on 16, 28, and 29 April. Seismicity remained at a low level with occasional Vulcanian explosion events 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: D. Lolok, C. McKee, and B. Talai, RVO.