Big Ben (previously known as Big Ben Peak, Old Ben Mountain, Emperor William Peak and Kaiser Wilhelm-Berg) is a

volcanic A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates a ...

massif In geology, a massif ( or ) is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole. The term also refers to a ...

that dominates the geography of

Heard Island The Territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands (HIMI) is an Australian external territory comprising a volcanic group of mostly barren Antarctic islands, about two-thirds of the way from Madagascar to Antarctica. The group's overall size ...

in the southern

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

. It is a

stratovolcano A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a conical volcano built up by many layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile with a summit crater and per ...

with a diameter of about . Its highest point is

Mawson Peak Mawson Peak is an active volcanic summit of the Big Ben massif on Heard Island, an external Australian territory in the Indian Ocean. With an elevation of , it is the third highest peak in any state or territory of Australia, higher than th ...

, which is

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...

. Much of it is covered by ice, including 14 major

glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its Ablation#Glaciology, ablation over many years, often Century, centuries. It acquires dis ...

s which descend from Big Ben to the sea. Big Ben is the highest mountain in Australian states and territories, except for those claimed in the

Australian Antarctic Territory The Australian Antarctic Territory (AAT) is a part of East Antarctica claimed by Australia as an external territory. It is administered by the Australian Antarctic Division, an agency of the federal Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Env ...

. A smaller volcanic headland, the

Laurens Peninsula Laurens Peninsula () is a rugged peninsula surmounted by several ice-covered peaks that forms the northwestern part of Heard Island in the southern Indian Ocean. The name was applied by the Australian National Antarctic Research Expedition following ...

, extends about to the northwest, created by a separate volcano, Mount Dixon; its highest point is

Anzac Peak Anzac Peak is a volcano on the Laurens Peninsula of Heard Island in the Southern Ocean. It lies to the northwest of Mawson Peak. Despite its low elevation of just over 700 metres high, the peak and several neighbouring peaks have permanent snow a ...

, at .

Volcanic activity

Volcanic activity at the cone has been known since 1881. An

eruption Several types of volcanic eruptions—during which lava, tephra (ash, lapilli, volcanic bombs and volcanic blocks), and assorted gases are expelled from a volcanic vent or fissure—have been distinguished by volcanologists. These are often ...

occurred in 1993. Satellite images detected eruptions during 2000. On 2 February 2016, observations from

Atlas Cove Atlas Cove is a cove on the north coast of Heard Island and McDonald Islands in the southern Indian Ocean, and is entered between the base of the Laurens Peninsula and Rogers Head. It was named by American sealers after the schooner seal hunting ...

, northwest of Mawson Peak, showed plumes up to high over the volcano. Satellite images showed hotspots at various times from 2003 to 2008, and during September 2012. A further eruption was reported on 2 February 2016, and was recorded by scientists who happened to be in the area on an expedition. Big Ben does not endanger humans because Heard Island is uninhabited. Big Ben is in a remote location, and without regular observation it is possible that eruptions have occurred at other times.

References

External links

*Clic
here
to see a map of Heard Island and McDonald Islands, including all major topographical features

*Australian Government (Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities
Heard Island and MacDonald Islands (HIMI) website
{{Authority control Active volcanoes Pleistocene stratovolcanoes Holocene stratovolcanoes Volcanoes of Heard Island and McDonald Islands

Volcanic activity

See also

References

External links