Volcano Live
volcanolive.com
Waiowa Volcano | John Seach
(Goropu)
Oro Province, Papua New Guinea
9.552 S, 149.079 E
summit elevation 640 m
pyroclastic cone
Waiowa Volcano is located on the mainland of New Guinea, 19 km inland from Collingwood Bay in Oro Province. A number of old volcanic cones lie between the crater and the coast. The volcano consists of a small vent on a fault-line near the margin of the Owen Stanley metamorphic belt.
1943-44 Eruptions
The first recorded eruptions of Waiowa volcano were between December 1943 and August 1944.
The eruptions were preceded by 4 months of seismic activity.
Explosive eruptions occurred with pyroclastic flows and lahars. The eruptions occurred in an area previously considered inactive. The 1943 eruption broke through highly metamorphosed rocks, indicating a long period of inactivity. On 20 December 1943 a large eruption sent ash 5 km high. Further eruptions occurred on
13 February 1944, 23 July 1944 and 31 August 1944.
Further reading
Smith, I.E.M., 1981. Young volcanoes in eastern Papua. Cooke-Ravian Volume of Volcanological Papers. Geological Survey of Papua New Guinea Memoir, 10, pp.257-65.
Waiowa Volcano Eruptions
1944, 1943