Background:: Geologic History of Camiguin Island and Its Volcanoes

Hibok-Hibok volcano (also known as Catarman volcano) is the youngest and the only
historically active volcano on Camiguin Island, which is located 9 km off the north coast
of Mindanao Island, Philippines.
Camiguin island itself is a 292 sq km oblate, 20 km long island composed of 4
overlapping stratovolcanoes and some flank cones.
Eruptions of Hibok-Hibok volcano are often Pelean-type, i.e. dome building and the
generation of nuées ardentes (= hot pyroclastic flows generated by partial dome
collapse).
Prior to the 1948 eruption, sulfur was mined at the crater of Hibok-Hibok.
Note: A volcanic Island called Camiguin de Babuyanes is located north of Luzon Island.
Background:
Geologic history of Camiguin Island and its volcanoes
The Camiguin volcanoes formed on an NW-SE trend, roughly parallel to the Central
Mindanao Arc, with the active vents migrating from SE to NW over time. The earliest
eruption center was from Camiguin Tanda volcano, now buried on the floor of the Bohol
Sea. Later volcanic activity formed the now eroded Mt Butay and Ginsiliba
stratovolcanoes on the SE tip of Camiguin Island, as well as the Binone cinder
cone on the SE coast.
Mt. Mambajao volcano in the center forms the highest peak of Camiguin Island. Its
fresh-looking shape including a summit and flank lava domes suggests a relatively age,
but there are no known historic eruptions. One of its flank domes partially fills a crater
breached to the NW.
Young Hibok-Hibok lies in the NW of the island about 6 km NW of Mt. Mambajao. It is
andesitic-to-rhyolitic in composition and contains several lava domes, including Mt.
Vulcan on its NW flank. Major eruptions during 1871-75 and 1948-53 formed flank lava
domes and produced pyroclastic flows that devastated villages at the coast.
1948-1953 eruption of Hibok-Hibok volcano

A significant eruption started on 1 September 1948. A large explosion from the summit
crater of Hibok-Hibok volcano, preceded by a week of intense earthquakes. The
explosion created a cauliflower-shaped eruption plume and produced devastating
pyroclastic flows and lahars down the NE side of the volcano. 8 suare km land were
invaded and destroyed. In May 1949, a new lava dome started to grow in the crater.
The new lava dome continued to grow during the next 2 years dome and had become a
prominent feature by late 1951. On 4 December 1951 pyroclastic flows went down the
NE flank of the mountain and reached the outskirts of Mambajao town where 500
people were killed.
Large amounts of pumice and ash were found in the deposits, indicating that these
pyroclastic flows were generated primarily by the explosion of fresh magma rather than
dome collapse.
---
Source: Gordon A. Macdonald and Arturo Alcaraz (1956) "Nuées ardentes of the 1948–
1953 eruption of Hibok-Hibok", Bull. Volc, v.18(1), pp 169-178
Mount Hibok-Hibok
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to navigationJump to search
Hibok-Hibok
Catarman Volcano
Highest point
Elevation 1,332 m (4,370 ft) [1]
Prominence 700 m (2,300 ft) [2]
9°12′02″N 124°40′05″ECoordinates: 9°12′02″N 124°
Coordinates 40′05″E
Geography
Hibok-Hibok
Location within the Philippines
Location Camiguin
Country Philippines
Region Northern Mindanao
Province Camiguin
Geology
Mountain type Stratovolcano
Volcanic arc/belt Central Mindanao Volcanic Arc
Last eruption 1948-1953
Climbing
Easiest route from Ardent Hot Springs
Hibok-Hibok (left) and Mt Vulcan (right), the volcanic cone created in the 1871 flank eruption.
Mount Hibok-Hibok (also known as Catarman Volcano[3][4]) is a stratovolcano on Camiguin Island in

the Philippines.[1] It is one of the active volcanoes in the country and part of the Pacific ring of fire.
Contents
 1Description
 2Eruptions
o 2.11871 to 1875
o 2.21897 to 1902
o 2.31948 to 1951
 3Hiking activity
 4See also
 5References
 6External links
Description[edit]
Volcanologists classify Hibok-Hibok or Catarman Volcano as a stratovolcano [1] and dome
complex[5] with an elevation of 1,332 metres (4,370 ft) and a base diameter of 10 kilometres (6.2 mi).
It has six hot springs (Ardent Spring, Tangob, Bugong, Tagdo, Naasag and Kiyab), three craters
(Kanangkaan Crater, site of the 1948 eruption; Itum Crater, site of 1949 eruption, and Ilihan Crater,
site of 1950 eruption).
Its adjacent volcanic edifices are Mt. Vulcan, 580 metres (1,900 ft) high, NW of Hibok-Hibok; Mt.
Mambajao, 1,552 metres (5,092 ft) center of Camiguin; Mt. Guinsiliban 581 metres (1,906 ft) high,
southernmost Camiguin; Mt. Butay 679 metres (2,228 ft); and Mt. Uhay, N of Mount Ginsiliban.
There are also domes and cones at Campana Hill, Minokol Hill, Tres Marias Hill, Mt. Carling, Mt.
Tibane, and Piyakong Hill.
Mount Timpoong and Hibok-Hibok form the two major landmarks within the Timpoong and Hibok-
Hibok Natural Monument.
Hibok-Hibok Volcano summit panorama

Eruptions[edit]
A solar-powered remote monitoring station located at Hibok-Hibok volcano
Hibok-Hibok has erupted five times in modern history.

The first recorded eruption occurred in 1827 and a similar activity followed in 1862. [5]
1871 to 1875[edit]
On February 16, 1871, earthquakes and subterranean rumblings began to be felt on the island,
which increased in severity until April 30 when a volcanic fissure opened up 400 yards southwest of
the village of Catarman, on the northwest flank of Hibok-hibok Volcano. From the opening, lava was
continuously ejected and poured into the sea for four years, destroying the town. At the same time,
the vent built a cone now known as Mt. Vulcan. In 1875, the Challenger expedition visited the area,
and described the mountain as a dome, about 1,950 feet (590 m) in height, without any crater, but
still smoking and incandescent at the top.[4]
The portion of the town containing a cemetery has subsided into the sea and is now marked with a
huge white cross off the coast. The settlement was relocated to where the present Catarman town
center is now located. The remains of old Catarman like the ruins of the ancient Spanish church,
convent and a bell tower is now called Gui-ob.
1897 to 1902[edit]
In 1897, Hibok-Hibok emitted white sulfurous vapors which damaged farms on the
island. Solfataric activity continued up to 1902.
1948 to 1951[edit]
From 1948 to 1951, Mt. Hibok-Hibok constantly rumbled and smoked. There were also landslides
and earthquakes followed by dome building and nuee ardente. The Peléan eruptionin 1948 from the
Kanangkaan crater caused little damage and loss of life. The eruption of 1949, originating from Itum
crater caused 79 deaths due to landslides. In the morning of December 4, 1951, the volcano erupted
again. This, time, however, it unleashed boiling lava, poisonous gases, and landslides enough to
destroy nearly 19 square kilometres (7.3 sq mi) of land particularly in Mambajao. All in all, over 3,000
people were killed. Before the eruption of Mt. Hibok-Hibok in 1951, the population of Camiguin had
reached 69,000. After the eruption, the population was reduced to about 34,000 due to massive
emigration.
Volcanologists observed an eruption pattern observed during the 1948-1952 eruptions (a cycle of
four phases) beginning with a short period of emission of steam from the crater and avalanches of
volcanic materials, followed by explosions or steam blast with emission of heavy clouds of steam,
ash and other fragmentary volcanic materials with a strong possibility of the development of
pyroclastic flows. The third phase involves eruption of incandescent materials, emission of ash and
steam in large amounts, formation of flows and occasional minor crater outbursts, and finally a
decrease in steam and other ejecta from the crater.
Hiking activity[edit]
Mount Hibok Hibok
Mt. Hibok-Hibok is a popular hiking destination in Camiguin island. A permit from the DENR office in

Mambajao is required. It normally takes 3–5 hours to reach the summit; the usual jump-off is Ardent
Hot Springs in Mambajao. Views from the summit include the nearby White Island, Bohol to the
north, Eastern Mindanao to the east and the island of Siquijor to the west. The mossy crater of
Camiguin's past eruption can also be seen.[6]
Mt. Vulcan can be hiked by way of the Stations of the Cross or The Walkway in Bonbon, Catarman.
On the trail are the statues depicting the Roman Catholic Stations of the Cross, which are 14 events
in the crucifixion of Jesus, at intervals on the climb. They are a memorial to the dead from the last
eruption in the 1950s.[7] Mt. Vulcan, which is locally called the Old Volcano, is a misnomer as it is
actually the youngest volcano on the island, formed in the 1871 eruption.
To the tranquil elders on the tiny Philippine island of Camiguin (pronounced come-agin),
volcanoes were both the machinery of God's providence and the crucible of His wrath.
Over the centuries, Camiguin's craters benevolently poured forth soil-enriching lava which made the
island abundant beyond the asking. But in periodic moments of ire, the volcanoes visited havoc and death
on the people—always, said the elders, because God had been displeased by younger Camiguenos who
grew lax in their churchgoing, forgetful of the feast days and neglectful of the sign of the cross. When his
children did wrong, an elder would glance fearfully toward the horizon and mutter, "The volcano will get
angry."
Grey Path. Twice in recent years, Camiguin's biggest active volcano, a many-cratered, 5,620-ft. monster
named Hibok-Hibok (Visayan for hot and bubbling), had gotten angry—once in 1948, again in 1950 when
68 islanders were killed. Always Hibok-Hibok gave warning—two or three days of ominous huffing &
puffing that gave Camiguenos time to retreat to safer reaches of the island, or even to take boats to
Mindanao, seven miles to the south.
Early one morning last week, Hibok-Hibok got angry again. This time it gave no warning. With a quaking
blast it heaved its sulphurous stomach, tossed red-hot boulders bigger than a man across the
northeastern portion of Camiguin, sent up clouds of red-hot ash and deadly chlorine. A torrent of glowing
molten lava rolled in all directions. Three and a half miles away in Mambajao (pop. 21,000), the island's
capital and largest village, children on the way to school, women washing clothes, men on the way to their
fields were buried in the rush of lava, burned to death by ashes or killed by gas.
From the scene, TIME Correspondent Carlos Weber cabled this report: "The air was filled with the stench
of decaying bodies and sulphur. For miles and miles there was no sign of life—just stony silence and the
stripped, twisted forms of ash-grey men, women, children and dogs. In one corner of what used to be a
hut, I saw 17 bodies huddled together in death. Two, about eight or nine years old, were hugging each
other. About 100 yards away was a carabao, bathed in ash and dead, but still standing. As I left, a
chicken crossed my path. Its right side was grey and seared, the other side untouched. It was the only
living thing I saw there."
Rescue by Water. In the next four days Hibok-Hibok erupted four more times and threatened to devastate
the entire 96-sq.-mi. island. To make matters worse, a typhoon raked the island, impeding rescue
operations and killing dozens more. By week's end emergency crews from Manila, 450 miles to the north,
and from Mindanao had recovered 266 bodies, estimated that 1,500 more were entombed in lava. The
Philippine government used warships, fishing craft, even outrigger canoes to evacuate Camiguenos by
the thousands from the island. But many of the elders, unshaken in their belief, refused to leave.
"The old people on this island are fanatics," exclaimed 24-year-old Lucino Balili, who was saying farewell
to Camiguin. "This is not God's punishment. It is the work of the devil himself."

Background:: Geologic History of Camiguin Island and Its Volcanoes

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Background:: Geologic History of Camiguin Island and Its Volcanoes

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Background:: Geologic History of Camiguin Island and Its Volcanoes

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Hibok-Hibok volcano (also known as Catarman volcano) is the youngest and the only

1948-1953 eruption of Hibok-Hibok volcano

Jump to navigationJump to search

Elevation 1,332 m (4,370 ft) [1]

Prominence 700 m (2,300 ft) [2]

Location within the Philippines

Region Northern Mindanao

Mountain type Stratovolcano

Volcanic arc/belt Central Mindanao Volcanic Arc

Last eruption 1948-1953

Easiest route from Ardent Hot Springs

Mount Hibok-Hibok (also known as Catarman Volcano[3][4]) is a stratovolcano on Camiguin Island in

Hibok-Hibok Volcano summit panorama

A solar-powered remote monitoring station located at Hibok-Hibok volcano

Hibok-Hibok has erupted five times in modern history.

Mount Hibok Hibok

Mt. Hibok-Hibok is a popular hiking destination in Camiguin island. A permit from the DENR office in

You might also like