Report on Curacoa (Tonga) — June 1979
Scientific Event Alert Network Bulletin, vol. 4, no. 6 (June 1979)
Managing Editor: David Squires.
Curacoa (Tonga) Fisherman sees eruption on 14 May
Please cite this report as:
Global Volcanism Program, 1979. Report on Curacoa (Tonga) (Squires, D., ed.). Scientific Event Alert Network Bulletin, 4:6. Smithsonian Institution. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.GVP.SEAN197906-243102
Curacoa
Tonga
15.62°S, 173.67°W; summit elev. -33 m
All times are local (unless otherwise noted)
A fisherman saw an eruption near Tafahi (14.85°S, 173.75°W) on 14 May, the only day he was in the area.
Geological Summary. A submarine volcano south of Curacoa Reef at the northern end of the Tofua volcanic arc was first observed in eruption in 1973. Explosive eruptions, which produced large rafts of dacitic pumice, covering an area of more than 100 km2, were observed from the island of Tafahi, 27 km SSW. The eruption site was located about 6.5 km SW of Curacoa Reef. Multiple submarine vents are apparently located in this area; a second eruption was reported in 1979 from a location 13 km N of Tafahi.
Information Contacts: R. Richmond, Mineral Resources Dept., Fiji; J. Latter, DSIR, Wellington; S. Tongilava, Lands Survey and Natural Resources, Tonga; R. Jones, Air Tonga.
