Tar River Estate House, Soufriere Hills Volcano, Montserrat.

BGS image ID: P063643

The Tar River Estate House on 17th September 1996 with a dome-collapse pyroclastic flow passing behind down the Tar River valley. This dome collapse continued for more than nine hours. A large part of the dome collapsed on 17th September and this caused a rapid reduction in pressure over the vent at the summit of the volcano. As a result, shortly before midnight, there was a magmatic explosion during which blocks of lava 1.5 m. in diameter were blasted 2.1 km. from the dome. The ongoing eruption of the Soufriere Hills Volcano has devastated much of the small Caribbean island of Montserrat. The eruption of the lava dome-building volcano began in 1995 and volcanic hazards have included pyroclastic flows, pyroclastic surges, vulcanian explosions, lateral blasts, ash clouds and lahars.

BGS hold an extensive photographic archive of the volcanic activity on Montserrat. 23,000 images are available on Geoscenic, the BGS online image service.

Bob McIntosh