Mt Erebus is the most active volcano in Antarctica and the southernmost active volcano on Earth. It features a 1700oF lava lake, a swirling pool of magma perhaps many miles deep: one of only five that exit in the world. Riddling the side of the snow-covered volcano are ice caves. The volcanic gases heat their way through these ice caves and escape into the air to form enormous 60-foot chimneys of ice or ‘fumaroles’ with noxious volcanic gases pouring out from their tips.
At the summit of the volcano is some 500 by 600 m large and 110 m deep crater. In this crater is one more – inner crater which is some 250 m wide and 100 m deep. In this inner crater is lava lake – one of the few such lakes in the world. It is filled with phonolitic lava. In fact, Mount Erebus is the only volcano in the world which erupts this kind of lava currently.
If the weather let’s see through the fumes, visitors can admire the glow of this lake from the rim of the crater. The lava lake of Mount Erebus has existed since the discovery of the volcano (and, most likely, before this), but it has constantly changed.
Thus, during the 1970ies the lava lake was some 130 m long and had oval shape. Then, in 1984 – 1985 the volcanic activity increased and the glow of lava was visible from a distance of some 70 km. During this time most of the lava lake “froze” – solidified. Nevertheless, Erebus threw volcanic bombs with a diameter up to 10 m up to 1.2 km far!
Small lava lake with a diameter of some 15 m appeared in late 1985. Then, in the late 1980ies, researchers observed up to three smaller lava lakes.
Lava lake or several lakes existed in the crater in the 1990ies and in the 21st century. In 2010 – 2016 volcano formed two lava lakes.
Picture Credit : Google