CAUTION! SOUFRIERE: READY TO ERUPT
By Michelle and Julia
All about the Soufriere.
The Soufriere (Soufriere Hills) is a stratovolcano located in Monterserrat, a carribean island. A stratovolcano, is the biggest most violent type of volcano. They are know for their huge eruptions. The volcanoes eruption lets out huge pyroclastic flows, tons of burning hot magma spreading at rapid paces. This volcano is currently an active volcano with it’s last eruption only being a few years ago.
The Soufriere's Plate Tectonics
The Soufriere was formed at the junction of the Atlantic tectonic plate and the Caribbean plate. The plate boundary that created this volcano was a destuctive plate boundary, which is near a subduction zone. A destructive plate boundary is where oceanic and continental plates move towards each other. The heavier, oceanic plate is pushed underneath the continental plate. As moves under the continental plate the oceanic plate melts due to the friction in the subduction zone. The crust becomes molten called magma. The magma is then forced to the surface of the earth causing a volcanic eruption.
Some Cool Pictures!
Overview
Outsider's View
Eruptions
Soufriere's Type
The Soufriere is a stratovolcano, with andesite lava. The Soufriere has long term eruptions. That means it has small to moderate ash eruptions, lava dome growth, and pyrocastic flows. Pyrocastic flows are dense destructive masses of extremely hot ash, lava fragments, and gases that are ejected like an explosion out of the volcano. Overall, the Soufriere has very dangerous eruptions.