Billy Mitchell (volcano)

Billy Mitchell is a volcano in the central part of the island of Bougainville, just north-east of the Bagana Volcano in Papua New Guinea. It is a small pyroclastic shield truncated by a 2 km wide caldera filled by a crater lake.[2] It is named after Billy Mitchell, a 20th-century United States Army general who is regarded as the father of the United States Air Force.

Billy Mitchell volcano
The dark-colored caldera lake of Billy Mitchell is at right, above an ash plume originating from Bagana.
Highest point
Elevation1,544 m (5,066 ft)
Coordinates6°06′S 155°13′E 
Geography
Billy Mitchell volcano
Bougainville, Papua New Guinea
Parent rangeEmperor Range
Geology
Mountain typePyroclastic shield
Volcanic arc/beltBougainville & Solomon Is.
Last eruption1580 ± 20 years
Billy Mitchell
LocationBougainville Island
Coordinates6.1°S 155.21667°E / -6.1; 155.21667 (Billy Mitchel (crater lake))
Typecrater lake
Basin countriesPapua New Guinea
Surface area~3 square kilometres (1.2 sq mi)[1]
Max. depth~90 metres (300 ft)[1]

The last two major eruptions were in 1580 AD ± 20 years and about 1030 AD. They were among the largest Holocene eruptions in Papua New Guinea. Both were explosive eruptions with a Volcanic Explosivity Index of at least 5. The 1580 AD ± 20 years eruption produced pyroclastic flows and probably formed its caldera.[3] The ignimbrite deposit from that eruption, which had a VEI of 6, extends 22 kilometres (14 mi) from the caldera to the coast, and its volume is around 10 cubic kilometres (2.4 cu mi).[1]

Caldera lake

Billy Mitchell caldera lake is about 1,013 m above sea level, has total surface area 3 km2 (1.2 sq mi), and the maximum depth approximately 88.3 m. The only fish species in the lake is the eel Anguilla megastoma. [4] Billy Mitchell lake drains into the Tekan River.[5]

See also

References
  1. The Billy Mitchell volcano at VolcanoLive.com
  2. The Billy Mitchell at the Global Volcanism Program website
  3. The Billy Mitchell erupts at the Global Volcanism Program website
  4. Robert Schabetsberger, Ursula Sichrowsky, Alexander Scheck, Michael Schagerl, Barbara Mähnert, Bettina Sonntag, Karin Pall First Limnological Characterization of Crater Lake Billy Mitchell (Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea) Pacific Science, 71(1):29-44 (2017). https://doi.org/10.2984/71.1.3
  5. Billy Mitchell volcano VolcanoDiscovery
  • Photo of the Billy Mitchell Crater Lake
  • "Billy Mitchell". Global Volcanism Program. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2011-11-08.


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