Page 213 - Volcano and Geothermal Tourism

190 Asia

Taal eruption, which probably took place around
Taal volcano is a stratovolcano in Batangas province 3580BC. Taal is located about 50km (31 miles)
on the island of Luzon. Sometimes nicknamed from the capital of Manila and is also to be seen
‘the world’s smallest volcano’, Taal is part of a as ‘a volcano inside a volcano’. The volcanic
chain of volcanoes along the western side of the island of Taal covers an area of about 23km², and
island of Luzon, which were formed by the consists of overlapping cones and craters; 47
subduction of the Eurasian Plate underneath the different cones and craters have been identified
Philippine Mobile Belt. Taal produces lavas here.
originated from a mantle wedge metasomatized Taal has erupted 34 times in the last 400 years,
by aqueous fluid dehydrated from the subducted causing loss of life in the populated areas
basaltic crust, and melt plus fluid derived from surrounding the lake, the current death toll
subducted terrigenous sediment (Castillo and standing at around 5000–6000. The greatest
Newhall, 2004) and – if erupting – a very recorded eruptions in historical times were in
dangerous and turbulent, water-rich mixture of 1754 and in 1965. Although the volcano has been
exploded bits of lava and steam. These eruptions, quiet since 1977, it has shown signs of unrest since
first observed at Taal volcano in 1965 are the 1991 with strong seismic activity and ground
origin of base surges resembling those created by fracturing events, as well as the formation of small
the underwater detonation of atomic bombs at mud pots and mud geysers on parts of the island.
Bikini Atoll in the 1950s. Because of its proximity to populated areas and its
The volcano itself consists of an island in eruptive history, the International Association of
Lake Taal (Figure 13.1), which is situated within Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth’s Interior
a caldera formed by an earlier, very powerful (IAVCEI) has designated Taal a ‘decade volcano’

Figure 13.1 Taal volcano
Source: Photo courtesy of Christoph Weber (Vulkanexpeditionen International (VEI), Germany)

Ch13.indd 190 4/7/2010 12:03:40 PM