Template:FP-Soufrière Hills

From Wikishire
Jump to: navigation, search
The Soufrière Hills of Montserrat erupting

Soufrière Hills

The Soufrière Hills are the major mountains of Montserrat. The name is from the French language, and means "Sulphur Hills", which gives an idea of the nature of these unquiet heights.

The Soufrière Hills are an active, complex stratovolcano with many lava domes forming its summit. The highest point (and the territory top) is Chances Peak, which reaches over 3,000 feet, depending on the state of its lava dome. The volcano became active in 1995, and has continued to erupt ever since. Its eruptions have rendered more than half of Montserrat uninhabitable, destroying the capital city, Plymouth, and causing widespread evacuations: about two thirds of the population left the island. (Read more)