Morne Diablotins

Morne Diablotin
Morne Diablotin - largest volcano on Dominica.
Highest point
Elevation1,447 m (4,747 ft)[1]
Prominence1,447 m (4,747 ft)[1]
ListingCountry high point
Ribu
Coordinates15°30′12″N 61°23′50″W / 15.50333°N 61.39722°W / 15.50333; -61.39722[2]
Geography
Morne Diablotin is located in Dominica
Morne Diablotin
Morne Diablotin
Geology
Mountain typeStratovolcano
Volcanic arcLesser Antilles Volcanic Arc
Last eruptionc. 30,000 years ago

Morne Diablotins is the highest mountain on the Caribbean island of Dominica, and the island's largest and highest volcano.[3] It is the second highest mountain in the Lesser Antilles. Its summit is 1,447 m (4,747 ft) above sea level. It last erupted c. 30,000 years ago.[4]

It takes approximately three hours to reach Morne Diablotins' summit.[5] The first recorded scaling of Morne Diablotin was in the late 1860s, by Scottish physician John Imray.[6][7]

Location

Morne Diablotins is located within Morne Diablotin National Park.[8] It is located in the northern interior of the island, about 24 kilometres (15 mi) north of Dominica's capital Roseau and about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) southeast of Portsmouth, the island's second-largest town. The mountain's runoff is the source of the Toulaman River.[5]

Etymology

The mountain was named after the Dominican creole word for the Black-capped Petrel, the diablotin ("little devil").[9][10] In the Caribbean, morne is French for a "big isolated hill" or "small mountain".[11][12][13]

Volcanic activity

Morne Diablotins has at least five lava domes, which coalesce to form the volcano's summit.[3] Other domes are found to the southeast.[3] Numerous hot springs are found in the Glanvillia neighborhood of Portsmith, near the volcano's northwest flank.[3] These onshore and underwater hotsprings, called the "Glanvillia Hotsprings", are the result of Morne Diablotin's volcanic activity.[3]

No recent eruptions are known. Pyroclastic-flow deposits (known as the Grand Savanne Ignimbrite) extend down the volcano as far as the coast.[3] The eruption that caused these deposits happened during the Quaternary period, and was one of just two Quaternary eruptions (with VEI of 6 or greater) in the Lesser Antilles.[14][15]

Two severe earthquake swarms in the nineteenth century (1841 and 1893) are attributed to Morne Diablotin,[16] although it's possible they may have originated Morne aux Diables.[3]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Morne Diablotin, Dominica". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2010-03-24.
  2. ^ "Morne Diablotin". Global Volcanism Program. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2010-03-13.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "Global Volcanism Program | Morne Diablotins". Smithsonian Institution | Global Volcanism Program. Retrieved 2026-03-21.
  4. ^ Carey, Steven N.; Sigurdsson, Haraldur (1980). "The Roseau Ash: Deep-sea Tephra Deposits from a Major Eruption on Dominica, Lesser Antilles Arc". Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research. 7 (1–2): 67–86. Bibcode:1980JVGR....7...67C. doi:10.1016/0377-0273(80)90020-7.
  5. ^ a b "Morne Diablotin National Park". (Official GANP Page). Retrieved 2026-03-20.
  6. ^ Imray, John (1868). Letter from John Imray to [Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker] from Dominica; 11 June 1868; four page letter comprising two images; folio 195. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew: Archives: Directors' Correspondence.
  7. ^ O'Keefe, M. Timothy (2001), Caribbean Hiking: A Hiking and Walking Guide to Thirty of the Most Popular Islands, Celtcom, Inc., pp. 100–101, ISBN 0-89732-412-9
  8. ^ “Caribbean Hiking” by M. Timothy O’Keefe, Google Books
  9. ^ Taylor, Douglas (1955). "Names on Dominica". De West-Indische Gids. 36: 121–124. ISSN 0372-7289.
  10. ^ Centre, UNESCO World Heritage. "Morne Diablotin National Park". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 2026-03-20.
  11. ^ "Gros Morne National Park | Social Sciences and Humanities | Research Starters | EBSCO Research". EBSCO. Retrieved 2026-03-20.
  12. ^ McAuley, James Phillip (1987). [Article]. Quadrant Magazine.
  13. ^ Jones, Mike; Willey, Liz (2018-04-10). Eastern Alpine Guide: Natural History and Conservation of Mountain Tundra East of the Rockies. University Press of New England. ISBN 978-1-5126-0303-3.
  14. ^ Palmer, Martin R.; Hatter, Stuart J.; Gernon, Thomas M.; Taylor, Rex; Cassidy, Michael; Johnson, Peter; Friant, Anne Le; Ishizuka, Osamu (2016). "Discovery of a large 2.4 Ma Plinian eruption of Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe, from the marine sediment record". Geology. 44 (2): 123. doi:10.1130/g37193.1.
  15. ^ "LaMEVE (Large Magnitude Explosive Volcanic Eruptions) database".
  16. ^ Lindsay, J.M., Smith, A.L., Roobol, M.J., and Stasiuk, M.V. (2005) Dominica: Volcanic Hazards of the Lesser Antilles. Seismic Research Unit, The University of the West Indies, Trinidad and Tobago.


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