"Langila's eruption continued but observations have been prevented at times by poor weather. Incomplete reports for March indicated that incandescent explosive activity was continuing in the new crater, formed on 19 January. Blue and white vapour emissions from the new crater were commonly observed in April. Brown ash emissions were seen 9 and 10 April, and at night on those dates incandescent lava fragment ejections occurred. Crater glow was seen occasionally during the month, and rumbling and explosion sounds were heard daily. The 1980 lava flow appeared to have grown little since it was first seen on 15 February. Crater 2 usually emitted white vapour, and brown emissions were reported on 2 days in April. Explosive activity was expressed seismically as small discrete events that had the appearance of discontinuous tremor."

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: C. McKee, RVO.