Global Volcanism Program

The Global Volcanism Program has no activity reports available for Pico Basilé.

The Global Volcanism Program has no Weekly Reports available for Pico Basilé.

The Global Volcanism Program has no Bulletin Reports available for Pico Basilé.

Basic Data

Volcano Number

Last Known Eruption

Elevation

Latitude
Longitude

224004

1923 CE

2,999 m / 9,839 ft

3.588°N
8.762°E

Morphology

Volcano Landform
Shield

Volcano Types
Shield
Pyroclastic cone(s)

Rock Types

Major
Basalt / Picro-Basalt
Trachybasalt / Tephrite Basanite

Tectonic Setting

Intraplate
Continental crust (> 25 km)

Population

Within 5 km
Within 10 km
Within 30 km
Within 100 km

95,977
95,977
117,500
506,900

Geological Summary

Pico Basilé is the largest and highest of three basaltic shield volcanoes forming Bioko Island. Lying on the continental shelf along the Cameroon Line, this volcano is modified by the same NNE faults as Mt. Cameroon across the Gulf of Guinea on the mainland. It contains numerous satellitic cinder cones and is the only Bioko Island volcano with recorded eruptions, although they are poorly documented. Three eruptions, during the late-19th and early-20th centuries, have been reported from SE flank vents.

References

The following references have all been used during the compilation of data for this volcano, it is not a comprehensive bibliography.

Deruelle B, Kambou R, Joron J-L, 1990. New petrological data on volcanic rocks of Bioko Island (Equatorial Guinea). IAVCEI 1990 International Volcanological Congress (abstracts), Mainz, Germany (unpaginated).

Fitton J G, 1987. The Cameroon line, West Africa: a comparison between oceanic and continental alkaline volcanism. In: Fitton J G and Upton B G J (eds) Alkaline Igneous Rocks, Geol Soc Amer Spec Pub 30: 273-291.

IAVCEI, 1973-80. Post-Miocene Volcanoes of the World. IAVCEI Data Sheets, Rome, International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior.

Liniger-Goumaz M, 1988. Historical Dictionary of Equatorial Guinea. Metuchen, New Jersey: Scarecrow Press, African Historical Dictionaries, no 21.

Vincent P M, 1992. (pers. comm.).

Eruptive History

There is data available for 3 confirmed eruptive periods.

1923 Confirmed Eruption (Explosive / Effusive)

Episode 1 \| Eruption (Explosive / Effusive)				SE flank

1923 - Unknown				Evidence from Observations: Reported

1903 Confirmed Eruption (Explosive / Effusive)

Episode 1 \| Eruption (Explosive / Effusive)				SE flank, near Bahu

1903 - Unknown				Evidence from Observations: Reported

1898 (?) Confirmed Eruption (Explosive / Effusive)

Episode 1 \| Eruption (Explosive / Effusive)				SE flank

1898 (?) - Unknown				Evidence from Observations: Reported

This compilation of synonyms and subsidiary features may not be comprehensive. Features are organized into four major categories: Cones, Craters, Domes, and Thermal Features. Synonyms of features appear indented below the primary name. In some cases additional feature type, elevation, or location details are provided.

Synonyms

Santa Isabel

Photo Gallery

Santa Isabel volcano occupies the northern end of Bioko (Fernando Poo) Island in this NASA Landsat view with north to the upper left. A large escarpment cuts the northern side of the 3,007-m-high volcano, whose summit is cut by regional NE-SW-trending faults. Numerous scoria cones are present, many of which lie along the same tectonic trend. Santa Isabel is the only Bioko Island volcano with reported historical eruptions, although they are poorly documented. The brown area along the northern coast is the capital city of Malabo.

NASA Landsat image, 1999 (courtesy of Hawaii Synergy Project, Univ. of Hawaii Institute of Geophysics & Planetology). Thumbnail Photo (see caption)

Santa Isabel (also called Pico Basile) is near the northern end of Bioko Island in Equatorial Guinea, seen here in this May 2019 Planet Labs satellite image mosaic (N at the top). Several eruptions occurred on the SE flank between 1989 and 1923. Several craters are visible across the summit area through the center of this image.

Satellite image courtesy of Planet Labs Inc., 2019 (https://www.planet.com/).

Smithsonian Sample Collections Database

There are no samples for Pico Basilé in the Smithsonian's NMNH Department of Mineral Sciences Rock and Ore collection.

External Sites

Copernicus Browser

The Copernicus Browser replaced the Sentinel Hub Playground browser in 2023, to provide access to Earth observation archives from the Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem, the main distribution platform for data from the EU Copernicus missions.

MIROVA

Middle InfraRed Observation of Volcanic Activity (MIROVA) is a near real time volcanic hot-spot detection system based on the analysis of MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) data. In particular, MIROVA uses the Middle InfraRed Radiation (MIR), measured over target volcanoes, in order to detect, locate and measure the heat radiation sourced from volcanic activity.

MODVOLC Thermal Alerts

Using infrared satellite Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data, scientists at the Hawai'i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, University of Hawai'i, developed an automated system called MODVOLC to map thermal hot-spots in near real time. For each MODIS image, the algorithm automatically scans each 1 km pixel within it to check for high-temperature hot-spots. When one is found the date, time, location, and intensity are recorded. MODIS looks at every square km of the Earth every 48 hours, once during the day and once during the night, and the presence of two MODIS sensors in space allows at least four hot-spot observations every two days. Each day updated global maps are compiled to display the locations of all hot spots detected in the previous 24 hours. There is a drop-down list with volcano names which allow users to 'zoom-in' and examine the distribution of hot-spots at a variety of spatial scales.

WOVOdat
   Single Volcano View
   Temporal Evolution of Unrest
   Side by Side Volcanoes

WOVOdat is a database of volcanic unrest; instrumentally and visually recorded changes in seismicity, ground deformation, gas emission, and other parameters from their normal baselines. It is sponsored by the World Organization of Volcano Observatories (WOVO) and presently hosted at the Earth Observatory of Singapore.

GVMID Data on Volcano Monitoring Infrastructure The Global Volcano Monitoring Infrastructure Database GVMID, is aimed at documenting and improving capabilities of volcano monitoring from the ground and space. GVMID should provide a snapshot and baseline view of the techniques and instrumentation that are in place at various volcanoes, which can be use by volcano observatories as reference to setup new monitoring system or improving networks at a specific volcano. These data will allow identification of what monitoring gaps exist, which can be then targeted by remote sensing infrastructure and future instrument deployments.

Volcanic Hazard Maps

The IAVCEI Commission on Volcanic Hazards and Risk has a Volcanic Hazard Maps database designed to serve as a resource for hazard mappers (or other interested parties) to explore how common issues in hazard map development have been addressed at different volcanoes, in different countries, for different hazards, and for different intended audiences. In addition to the comprehensive, searchable Volcanic Hazard Maps Database, this website contains information about diversity of volcanic hazard maps, illustrated using examples from the database. This site is for educational purposes related to volcanic hazard maps. Hazard maps found on this website should not be used for emergency purposes. For the most recent, official hazard map for a particular volcano, please seek out the proper institutional authorities on the matter.

IRIS seismic stations/networks

Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS) Data Services map showing the location of seismic stations from all available networks (permanent or temporary) within a radius of 0.18° (about 20 km at mid-latitudes) from the given location of Pico Basilé. Users can customize a variety of filters and options in the left panel. Note that if there are no stations are known the map will default to show the entire world with a "No data matched request" error notice.

UNAVCO GPS/GNSS stations

Geodetic Data Services map from UNAVCO showing the location of GPS/GNSS stations from all available networks (permanent or temporary) within a radius of 20 km from the given location of Pico Basilé. Users can customize the data search based on station or network names, location, and time window. Requires Adobe Flash Player.

DECADE Data

The DECADE portal, still in the developmental stage, serves as an example of the proposed interoperability between The Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanism Program, the Mapping Gas Emissions (MaGa) Database, and the EarthChem Geochemical Portal. The Deep Earth Carbon Degassing (DECADE) initiative seeks to use new and established technologies to determine accurate global fluxes of volcanic CO₂ to the atmosphere, but installing CO₂ monitoring networks on 20 of the world's 150 most actively degassing volcanoes. The group uses related laboratory-based studies (direct gas sampling and analysis, melt inclusions) to provide new data for direct degassing of deep earth carbon to the atmosphere.

Large Eruptions of Pico Basilé

Information about large Quaternary eruptions (VEI >= 4) is cataloged in the Large Magnitude Explosive Volcanic Eruptions (LaMEVE) database of the Volcano Global Risk Identification and Analysis Project (VOGRIPA).

EarthChem

EarthChem develops and maintains databases, software, and services that support the preservation, discovery, access and analysis of geochemical data, and facilitate their integration with the broad array of other available earth science parameters. EarthChem is operated by a joint team of disciplinary scientists, data scientists, data managers and information technology developers who are part of the NSF-funded data facility Integrated Earth Data Applications (IEDA). IEDA is a collaborative effort of EarthChem and the Marine Geoscience Data System (MGDS).

Due to the US Government shutdown, the Smithsonian is temporarily closed. The Global Volcanism Program website will remain available but will not be monitored or updated. Status updates will be available on the Smithsonian homepage.

Pico Basilé