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Penguin Island

Photo of this volcano
  • Country
  • Volcanic Region
  • Landform | Volc Type
  • Last Known Eruption
  • 62.1°S
  • 57.93°W

  • 180 m
    591 ft

  • 390031
  • Latitude
  • Longitude

  • Summit
    Elevation

  • Volcano
    Number

The Global Volcanism Program has no activity reports available for Penguin Island.

The Global Volcanism Program has no Weekly Reports available for Penguin Island.

The Global Volcanism Program has no Bulletin Reports available for Penguin Island.

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.

Eruptive History

There is data available for 3 confirmed Holocene eruptive periods.

1905 (?) Confirmed Eruption  

Episode 1 | Eruption NE flank (Petrel Crater)
1905 (?) - Unknown Evidence from Chem/Bio: Lichenometry

List of 3 Events for Episode 1 at NE flank (Petrel Crater)

Start Date End Date Event Type Event Remarks
   - - - -    - - - - Explosion
   - - - -    - - - - Blocks
   - - - -    - - - - Crater Parasitic.

1850 (?) Confirmed Eruption  

Episode 1 | Eruption Deacon Peak
1850 (?) - Unknown Evidence from Observations: Reported

List of 1 Events for Episode 1 at Deacon Peak

Start Date End Date Event Type Event Remarks
   - - - -    - - - - Lava flow

1683 (?) Confirmed Eruption  

Episode 1 | Eruption Deacon Peak
1683 (?) - Unknown Evidence from Chem/Bio: Lichenometry

List of 2 Events for Episode 1 at Deacon Peak

Start Date End Date Event Type Event Remarks
   - - - -    - - - - Explosion
   - - - -    - - - - Blocks
Deformation History

There is no Deformation History data available for Penguin Island.

Emission History

There is no Emissions History data available for Penguin Island.

Photo Gallery

Petrel maar is a 300-m-wide crater on the eastern side of the roughly 1.5-km-wide Penguin Island. The maar was formed during an explosive eruption in the early 20th century and is surrounded by angular blocks of ejecta. The cinder cone behind Petrel maar to the SW is Deacon Peak, which marks the 180-m-high summit of the island.

Copyrighted photo by Katia and Maurice Krafft, 1984.
The ice-filled crater of Petrel maar is here seen from the southwest; this approximately 300-m-wide crater formed in a phreatomagmatic eruption about 1905 CE. Petrel maar and Deacon Peak are the two main vents identified on Penguin Island, and represent the youngest activity.

Photo by Oscar González-Ferrán (University of Chile).
The small 1.4 x 1.7 km Penguin Island, seen here from the SW, is located off the SE coast of King George Island in the South Shetland Islands. The most prominent feature is Deacon Peak (center), a largely basaltic scoria cone with a 350-m-wide summit crater. Petrel Crater, a 300-m-wide maar, is located behind Deacon Peak, out of view in this photo. Both Deacon Peak and Petrel Crater were formed within the past few hundred years.

Photo by Oscar González-Ferrán (University of Chile).
Deacon Peak scoria cone on Penguin Island contains a summit crater approximately 350 m wide and 75 m deep. The upper slopes of the cone are composed of reddish oxidized pyroclastic rocks. The formation of Deacon Peak was dated to about 1679 CE using lichenometry, which is based on the calibration of lichen growth rates.

Photo by Oscar González-Ferrán (University of Chile).
This large block, about 4 m3 in size, was expelled by phreatomagmatic explosions accompanying the formation of Petrel Crater maar. The eruption, which formed a low relief 300-m-wide crater in about 1905 CE, marked the most recent recorded activity on Penguin Island. The growth rate of the reddish-orange lichens mantling the upper part of the ejected block was used to estimate the date of the eruption.

Photo by Oscar González-Ferrán (University of Chile).
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 Penguin Island in the Smithsonian's NMNH Department of Mineral Sciences Rock and Ore collection.

External Sites