Queen Mary's Peak
| Queen Mary's Peak | |
|---|---|
| Tristan da Cunha | |
 Satellite photo of Tristan da Cunha | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 2,062 m (6,765 ft) |
| Prominence | 2,062 m (6,765 ft) |
| Isolation | 2,665 km (1,656 mi)  |
| Listing | Ultra |
| Coordinates | 37°06′40″S 12°17′18″W / 37.11111°S 12.28833°W |
| Geography | |
 Location on Tristan da Cunha
| |
| Location | ka[1] |
| Mountain type | Shield volcano |
| Last eruption | October 1961–March 1962[2] |
| Climbing | |
| First ascent | About 1 January 1817[3] |
Queen Mary's Peak is the summit of the island of
Outline
The mountain is the peak of the massive shield volcano which forms the island. A 300 m (1,000 ft) wide summit crater caps the peak, and it contains a heart-shaped crater lake. This lake is normally frozen during the winter, and the upper slopes of the volcano are covered in snow.
The first observed eruption began on 10 October 1961 from a vent on the north shore of the island and continued into March 1962. The entire population of the island (264) had to be evacuated and did not return until 1963. There was an eruption during the early 18th century on the main peak on Tristan da Cunha when the island was not inhabited; islanders were unaware about previous volcanic activity before the 1961 eruption, as they could not find any evidence of previous eruptions. There was also a 2004 eruption which happened underwater, as there was an earthquake on Tristan da Cunha, as well as pumice that was picked up by fishermen, suggesting that the volcano is still active.[2][4]
Queen Mary's Peak was used by sailors on the route from Europe to the Indian Ocean and beyond as a navigational aid. In the 17th century, the
Climbing the peak
The first known attempt to climb the peak was in 1793 by the
Queen Mary's Peak is the brand name for Tristan da Cunha island
See also
- Geography of Tristan da Cunha
- List of mountains and hills of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
- List of volcanoes in Tristan da Cunha
References
- ^ Dunkley, Peter N. (2002). Volcanic Hazard Assessment of Tristan da Cunha, South Atlantic (PDF). British Geological Survey.
- ^ a b "Tristan da Cunha". Global Volcanism Program. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2020-03-21.
- ^ Carmichael, Dugald (1817), "Some Account of the Island of Tristan da Cunha and of its Natural Productions", The Transactions of the Linnean Society of London, 12: 483–513
- ^ "Travel Tristan da Cunha". Archived from the original on 11 September 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
Other projects
Media related to Queen Mary's Peak at Wikimedia Commons