La Grande Soufrière (; ), or simply Soufrière (), is an active

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

on the French island of

Basse-Terre Basse-Terre (, ; ; ) is a communes of the Guadeloupe department, commune in the France, French overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department of Guadeloupe, in the Lesser Antilles. It is also the ''prefectures in France, pref ...

Guadeloupe Guadeloupe is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre Island, Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Guadeloupe, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galant ...

. It is the highest mountain peak in the

Lesser Antilles The Lesser Antilles is a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea, forming part of the West Indies in Caribbean, Caribbean region of the Americas. They are distinguished from the larger islands of the Greater Antilles to the west. They form an arc w ...

, rising high. The last

magmatic Magma () is the molten or semi-molten natural material from which all igneous rocks are formed. Magma (sometimes colloquially but incorrectly referred to as ''lava'') is found beneath the surface of the Earth, and evidence of magmatism has also ...

eruption was in 1530±30 during which the current

lava dome In volcanology, a lava dome is a circular, mound-shaped protrusion resulting from the slow extrusion of viscous lava from a volcano. Dome-building eruptions are common, particularly in convergent plate boundary settings. Around 6% of eruptions ...

was emplaced. More recent eruptions have been

phreatic ''Phreatic'' is a term used in hydrology to refer to aquifers, in speleology to refer to cave passages, and in volcanology to refer to a type of volcanic eruption. Hydrology The term phreatic (the word originates from the Greek , meaning "well" ...

in type. On February 8, 1843, an eruption of La Grande Soufrière caused by an earthquake killed over 5,000 people. Significant seismic activity in 1976 led to a mass evacuation of the island's 72,000 residents. There was a bitter, and well-publicized, controversy between scientists

Claude Allègre Claude Allègre (; 31 March 1937 – 4 January 2025) was a French politician and scientist. His work in the field of isotope geochemistry was recognised with the award of many senior medals, including the Crafoord Prize for geosciences in 1986 ...

and Haroun Tazieff on whether evacuation should occur. Allègre held that inhabitants should be evacuated, just in case, while Tazieff held that the ''Soufrière'' was harmless. The

prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect' ...

decided to evacuate, erring on the side of caution. The volcano erupted on August 30, 1976, but much less severely than predicted by the Allègre side. There were no fatalities and no significant damage, except for the large cost of the evacuation. While the island was deserted, the German filmmaker

Werner Herzog Werner Herzog (; né Stipetić; born 5 September 1942) is a German filmmaker, actor, opera director, and author. Regarded as a pioneer of New German Cinema, his films often feature ambitious protagonists with impossible dreams, people with unusu ...

traveled to the abandoned town of Basse-Terre to find a peasant who had refused to leave his home on the slopes of the volcano. His journey is recorded in the film ''

La Soufrière LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note *"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smi ...

''.

Gallery

Image:Guadeloupe 116 - Sommet de la Soufrière 1467m - Guadeloupe.jpg Image:Guadeloupe 123 - Massif de la Soufrière 1467m - Chemin des bains jaunes.jpg Image:Guadeloupe 108 - lac Flamarion - sommet de la citerne 1155m - massif de la Soufrière.jpg Image:Soufriere Guadeloupe Gouffre Tarissan.JPG Image:Eboulement Faujas - La Soufrière - Guadeloupe.JPG

References

*
OVSG : Observatoire volcanologique et sismologique de Guadeloupe

Parc National de la Guadeloupe, manager of the top of the Soufrière
Mountains of Guadeloupe Volcanoes of Guadeloupe Stratovolcanoes of France Active volcanoes Natural history of Guadeloupe Mountains of the Caribbean Highest points of French national parks {{Highest points of North America

Gallery

See also

References