Taal Volcano

Taal Volcano is located on the island Luzon, about 60 km SSE of the Philippines' captial Manila. It has been selected as one of 15 Decade Volcanoes.

It has made thirty three eruptions since 1572 at Taal, mostly on Volcano Island. The impacts of these eruptions were largely confined to the intracaldera area. Occasional violent activity, however, such as the 1754 plinian eruption, affected the entire region, including what is now the Metro Manila area with fallout. Some activity, such as the 1749 eruption, were accompanied by crustal disturbance and strong earthquakes, which generated ground fissures and pronounced subsidence that extended across Taal lake.

PHYSICAL FEATURES
Elevation: 0.311 km
Type of Volcano: Tuff cone
Crater Lakes/Caldera/Maars:
MAIN CRATER LAKE - 1.9 km in diameter; blue-green in color, 4 m above sea level, deepest point: 76 m
Taal Volcano Island has 47 craters and 4 maars
TAAL CALDERA - 25 km across and formed between 140,000 to 5,380 BP
TAAL LAKE - inside the caldera; 267 sq. km and 2 m above sea level
Adjacent Volcanic Edifice: Makiling (NE) Malepunyo (E), Batulao (W) and Macolod (SE)


GEOLOGICAL FEATURES
Rock Type: Olivine basalt, Andesite
Tectonic Setting: Macolod Corridor
Age of Deposits: 5380+_ 170 ybp (Radiocarbon age, Listanco, 1994)


VOLCANIC ACTIVITY
Number of Historical Eruptions: 33
Latest Eruption/Activity: 1977 Oct. 3
Eruption Type:
1. Phreatic (e.g. 1878, 1911, 1970)
2. Phreatomagmatic (e.g. 1749, 1965, 1966)
3. Strombolian (e.g. 1968, 1969)
4. Plinian (e.g. 1754)