Smithsonian Institution
Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network, v. 20, no. 11/12, November-December 1995
Fogo (Cape Verde)  Eruption of 2 April through 28 May covered over
     6 square kilometers of land

Fogo
SW Cape Verde Islands, Atlantic Ocean
14.95 N, 24.35 W; summit elev. 2,829 m

The eruption that began on 2 April (Bulletin v. 20, nos. 4-5) ended
on or about 28 May, according to V. Martins. New lava flows covered
~6.3 km^2 of land. The total volume of lava extruded was ~60-100 x
10^6 m^3, assuming lava flow thicknesses of ~9-15 m; the known
range was from 1 to >20 m. Based on six major-element XRF analyses,
the lava flow erupted during the first night (3 April) was
determined to be a differentiated kaersutite-bearing phonotephrite
(IUGS system), whereas later lava flows and spatter were more
primitive tephrite basanite.

Fogo Island consists of a single massive volcano with an 8-km-wide
caldera breached to the E. The central cone was apparently almost
continuously active from the time of Portuguese settlement in 1500
A.D. until around 1760. The June-August 1951 eruption from caldera
vents S and NW of the central cone began with ejection of
pyroclastic material.

Information Contacts: Richard Moore, U.S. Geological Survey, Mail
Stop 903, Federal Center Box 25046, Denver, CO 80225 USA (Email:
rbmoore@gccmail.cr.usgs.gov); Frank Trusdell, U.S. Geological
Survey, Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, Hawaii National Park, HI
96718 USA; Veronica Carvalho Martins, U.S. Embassy, Rua Hoji Ya
Henda 81, C.P. 201, Praia, Cape Verde; Arrigo Querido, INGRH
Servicos Estudos Hidrologicos, C.P. 367, Praia, Cape Verde.