Mount Pelée- MAY 8, 1902Mount Pelée is the result of a typical subduction zone. The subduction formed the Lesser Antilles island arc, a curved chain of volcanoes approximately 850 kilometres (530 mi) in length, between Puerto Rico and Venezuela, where the Caribbean Plate meets Atlantic Oceanic crust belonging to the South American Plate.
The stratovolcano is famous for its eruption in 1902 and the destruction that resulted, dubbed the worst volcanic disaster of the 20th century. Pyroclastic flows completely destroyed St. Pierre (at that time, the largest city on the island), killing 30,000 people within minutes of the eruption, leaving only two survivors.
On May 8, 1902, Ascension Day, a volcanic eruption destroyed the town of Saint-Pierre, about 6.4 kilometres (4.0 mi) south of the summit.
THE MAIN ERUPTIONIn the morning, people were observing the fireworks the mountain was displaying. The night shift telegraph operator was sending the reports of the volcano's activity to the operator at Fort-de-France, claiming no significant new developments; his last transmission was at 7:52 was "Allez", handing over the line to the remote operator.In the next second, the telegraph line went dead. A cable repair ship had the city in direct view; the upper mountainside ripped open and a dense black cloud shot out horizontally.
A second black cloud rolled upwards, forming a gigantic mushroom cloud and darkening the sky in a 50-mile (80 km) radius. The initial speed of both clouds was later calculated to be over 670 kilometres (420 mi) per hour. The horizontal pyroclastic surge hugged the ground and sped down towards the city of Saint-Pierre, appeared black and heavy, glowing hot from the inside. It consisted of superheated steam and volcanic gases and dust, with temperatures exceeding 1,075 °C (1,967 °F).
IN UNDER A MINUTE, it reached and covered the entire city, instantly igniting everything flammable with which it came in contact.
A rush of wind followed, this time towards the mountain. Then came a half-hour downpour of muddy rain mixed with ashes. For the next several hours, all communication with the city was severed. Nobody knew what was happening, nor who had authority over the island, as the governor was unreachable and his status unknown.
On May 20, 1902, a second eruption equal to the first one in both type and force obliterated what was left of Saint-Pierre, killing 2000 rescuers, engineers, and mariners bringing supplies to the island.
The study of the causes of the disaster marked the beginning of modern volcanology with the definition and the analysis of the deadliest volcanic hazard: the pyroclastic flows and surges, also known as nuées ardentes (burning clouds).
VOLCANIC SPINEBeginning in October 1902, a dramatic volcanic spine grew from the crater floor in the Étang Sec crater, reaching a maximum width of about 100 to 150 m (300 to 500 ft) and a height of about 300 m (1,000 ft). Called the "Needle of Pelée" or "Pelée's Tower", this extraordinary volcanic feature rose up to 15 m (50 ft) a day, and became twice the height of the Washington Monument and more or less the same volume as the Great Pyramid of Egypt. It became unstable and collapsed into a pile of rubble in March 1903,after 5 months of growth.
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