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Volume No. 1 Issue No. 67 - Tuesday April 05, 2005 |
Dominica's Volcano's (Reprinted from the New York Times)
 To the Editor of the NY Times
As researchers who study ancient volcanic rocks, surface deformation and seismicity, and hazards on Dominica, we were pleased to read "Hiking Dominica's Peaks,'' (Feb. 6).
 We have visited Dominica many times and can confirm that it is an island of unsurpassed natural beauty with warm and friendly people.
We were dismayed, however, that although the article focused on recent hydrological changes to the Boiling Lake, it barely acknowledged that Dominica is comprised of at least nine potentially active volcanic centers, giving it one of the highest concentrations of potentially active volcanoes in the world.
Activity on Dominica has included shallow earthquake swarms associated with movement of magma, termed volcano-seismic crises (14 in the last 350 years) and tens if not hundreds of eruptions from the different centers over the last 40,000 years. Dominica has also been the site of the largest explosive eruptions in the Lesser Antilles in the last 200,000 years. The most recent activity on the island was a small steam explosion from the Valley of Desolation in 1997.
Features like the Boiling Lake are surface manifestations of deeper volcanic processes. Changes in its water level, chemistry or temperature likely reflect deeper changes.
Glen S. Mattioli
Associate Professor,
Department of Geosciences,
University of Arkansas,
Fayetteville, Ark.
Alan L. Smith
Professor and Chairman,
Department of Geological Sciences,
California State University, San Bernardino, Calif.
Related Items
History of a Volcano Island
Hiking Dominica's Peaks
Earthquakes, Landslides and Rain Creates Chaos in Dominica
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