Global Volcanism Program

The Global Volcanism Program has no activity reports available for Kueishantao.

The Global Volcanism Program has no Weekly Reports available for Kueishantao.

The Global Volcanism Program has no Bulletin Reports available for Kueishantao.

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

Guieshan | Guishan

Basic Data

Volcano Number

Last Known Eruption

Elevation

Latitude
Longitude

281031

1853 CE

361 m / 1,184 ft

24.841°N
121.953°E

Morphology

Volcano Landform
Composite

Volcano Types
Stratovolcano

Rock Types

Major
Andesite / Basaltic Andesite

Tectonic Setting

Subduction zone
Continental crust (> 25 km)

Population

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

1
6,523
471,596
10,011,370

Geological Summary

Kueishantao Island, the southernmost of five small volcanic islands off the NE coast of Taiwan, is also known as Guieshan Island and "Turtle Mountain Island" due to its profile as seen from some points on Taiwan. It is the southwesternmost volcano along the axis of the Okinawa Trough back-arc basin that extends to the NE from Taiwan to Unzen volcano in Kyushu. The SW tip of the Okinawa Trough extends past Kueishantao onto the Ilao Plain on Taiwan. The island consists of andesitic lava flows and volcaniclastic material. Accounts during the time of King Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty (1775-1795 CE) noted a lava flow on the mountain. Observations from ships in 1853 were likely from this location. Vigorous submarine fumaroles and solfataras discolor seawater in the area.

References

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

Chen C H, 1981. Petrochemical aspects and tectonic implication of Pleistocene andesitic rocks of northern Taiwan and off-shore islets. IAVCEI 1981 Tokyo Mtg Abs, p 50-51.

Chen C-H, Lee T, Shieh Y-N, Chen C-H, Hsu W-Y, 1995. Magmatism at the onset of back-arc basin spreading in the Okinawa Trough. J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res., 69: 313-322.

Ho C S, 1988. An introduction to the geology of Taiwan; explanatory text of the geologic map of Taiwan. Taipei: Central Geol Surv, Ministry Economic Affairs, 192 p.

IAVCEI, 1973-80. Post-Miocene Volcanoes of the World. IAVCEI Data Sheets, Rome: Internatl Assoc Volc Chemistry Earth's Interior.

Katsui Y (ed), 1971. List of the World Active Volcanoes. Volc Soc Japan draft ms, (limited circulation), 160 p.

Liu J, Taniguchi H, 2001. Active volcanoes in China. Tohoku Asian Studies, 6: 173-189.

Perry M C, 1856. Narrative of the Expedition of an American Squadron to the China Seas and Japan, performed in the years 1852, 1853, and 1854, under the command of Commodore M. C. Perry, United States Navy, by order of the government of the United States (Volume II - with Illustrations). House of Representatives, 33d Congress, 2nd Session, Ex. Doc. No. 97. Washington DC, A.O.P. Nicholson, printer..

Eruptive History

There is data available for 2 confirmed Holocene eruptive periods.

1853 Oct 29 - 1853 Nov (?) Confirmed Eruption VEI: 2 (?)

Episode 1 | Eruption

1853 Oct 29 - 1853 Nov (?)

Evidence from Observations: Reported

Extract from report of Lieutenant Commanding J.J. Boyle: "On the 29th of October, 1S53, near the island of Formosa, I discovered a volcano, distant from the land about ten miles, in a violent state of eruption, throwing out columns of vapor to a great height, resembling in appearance a similar phenomenon to which I was witness some years ago on the coast of Sicily; this, however, was of greater magnitude and force than that, although no lava was visible by reason of the dense bank of vapor which hung around it. The depth of water here is much greater than on the Sicilian coast, and hence my conclusion as to the cause of not seeing lava. When last seen, at 3 p.m., it was in a lively state of activity, and bore N.N.W., distant about ten miles. It was in latitude about 24°N, and longitude 121° 50' E; there was no sail in sight." Several days later another ship, the "Macedonian," passed the same location and reported white ash covering its curtains.

List of 3 Events for Episode 1

Start Date	End Date	Event Type
- - - -	- - - -	Explosion
- - - -	- - - -	Ash
1853 Oct 29	- - - -	VEI (Explosivity Index)

1785 ± 10 years Confirmed Eruption VEI: 0

Episode 1 | Eruption

1785 ± 10 years - Unknown

Evidence from Observations: Reported

Historical accounts during the early years of King Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty (1775-1795 CE) noted the Guishan mountain split open with a blood-red lava flow (Liu and Taniguchi, 2001), although Zhang and Shi (1999) placed this eruption in 1795 CE.

List of 2 Events for Episode 1

	Start Date	End Date	Event Type	Event Remarks
	- - - -	- - - -	Lava flow
	1785 ± 10 years	- - - -	VEI (Explosivity Index)

Deformation History

There is no Deformation History data available for Kueishantao.

Emission History

There is no Emissions History data available for Kueishantao.

Photo Gallery

Vigorous submarine fumarolic activity discolors water over broad areas around Kueishantao Island (also known as Gueishan Island, or "Turtle Mountain Island") off the E coast of Taiwan. Historical accounts during the early years of King Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty (1775-1795 CE) noted a lava flow on the mountain.

Copyrighted photo by Tourism Bureau, Republic of China (Taiwan), 2006.

GVP Map Holdings

Maps are not currently available due to technical issues.

The maps shown below have been scanned from the GVP map archives and include the volcano on this page. Clicking on the small images will load the full 300 dpi map. Very small-scale maps (such as world maps) are not included.

Smithsonian Sample Collections Database

There are no samples for Kueishantao 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 Kueishantao. 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 Kueishantao. 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 Kueishantao

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).