La Soufrière

 

La Soufrière, a stratovolcano located on the Caribbean island of Saint Vincent, stands as the highest peak in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. A notable feature is its crater lake. La Soufrière maintains a volatile history, with documented eruptions as early as 1718 and continuing intermittently throughout the centuries. Most recently, periods of both effusive and explosive activity occurred starting in December 2020 and lasting into April 2021.

Location: Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Coordinates:
13.334831, -61.182648
Volcano Type: Stratovolcano

 

La Soufrière’s Location

 

La Soufrière’s Latest Status

2024: Currently dormant. Not active.

 

La Soufrière’s Eruptive History

1902 Major eruption (VEI=4), killing 1,680 people
1971 Minor eruption confirmed that expanded the crater lake. Dome growth.
1979 Major eruption that produced pyroclastic flows and lava extrusion. Thousands of people were evacuated. No casualties recorded.
2020 After many years of no activity, a new dome started to form next to the existing dome from the 1970’s
2021 The dome continues to grow. As of April 9,  activity at La Soufrière has increased with seismic tremors at the summit. This (likely) means that magma is on the move. Dome activity has also increased with moderate thermal hot spots detected. A red alert level has been issued and evacuations are underway. Shortly after this post, the island was rocked by a series of large eruptions which caused widespread devastation. Post April, seismic activity has remained low since.
2023 The Alert Level for Soufriere remains at green.

 

La Soufrière Monitoring

For monitoring, please refer to the UWI Seismic Research Centre.

 

La Soufrière Images