Report on Langila (Papua New Guinea) — April 1999
Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network, vol. 24, no. 4 (April 1999)
Managing Editor: Richard Wunderman.
Langila (Papua New Guinea) Continued Vulcanian activity at Crater 2; Crater 3 is quiet
Please cite this report as:
Global Volcanism Program, 1999. Report on Langila (Papua New Guinea) (Wunderman, R., ed.). Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network, 24:4. Smithsonian Institution. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.GVP.BGVN199904-252010
Langila
Papua New Guinea
5.525°S, 148.42°E; summit elev. 1330 m
All times are local (unless otherwise noted)
Crater 2 continued to display irregular Vulcanian eruptive activity and pale gray ash emissions. Crater 3 remained quiet. During March the ash plumes rose to 500-2,000 m above the summit before being blown NW. Variable winds in April caused the ash plumes to be blown to the NW, NE, and SE.
Geological Summary. Langila, one of the most active volcanoes of New Britain, consists of a group of four small overlapping composite basaltic-andesitic cones on the lower E flank of the extinct Talawe volcano in the Cape Gloucester area of NW New Britain. A rectangular, 2.5-km-long crater is breached widely to the SE; Langila was constructed NE of the breached crater of Talawe. An extensive lava field reaches the coast on the N and NE sides of Langila. Frequent mild-to-moderate explosive eruptions, sometimes accompanied by lava flows, have been recorded since the 19th century from three active craters at the summit. The youngest and smallest crater (no. 3 crater) was formed in 1960 and has a diameter of 150 m.
Information Contacts: Herman Patia, RVO.