Guadeloupe
La Grande Soufrière: Guadeloupe’s Active Volcano
December 2017
La Grande Soufrière rises 4,813 feet (1,467 meters) above Basse-Terre and is the highest point in Guadeloupe and the Lesser Antilles. The active andesitic stratovolcano is capped by a lava dome formed during its most recent magmatic eruption, around 1530.
Later eruptions have been steam-driven rather than magmatic. Six phreatic explosive episodes have been recorded since 1690; the most recent occurred in 1976–1977 and prompted the evacuation of communities across southern Basse-Terre. Fumaroles, hot springs, acidic gases and seismic activity reflect the continuing hydrothermal system, which is closely monitored by Guadeloupe’s volcano observatory.
The volcano lies within Guadeloupe National Park, created in 1989 as France’s first overseas national park. The park protects 42,749 acres (17,300 hectares) of Basse-Terre’s volcanic and forest massif, together with marine protected areas elsewhere in the archipelago. Its terrestrial environments range from tropical rainforest to high-altitude shrubland and savanna. The wider Guadeloupe Archipelago was designated a UNESCO biosphere reserve in 1992.
On the volcano’s eastern flank, the Grand Carbet River descends through the three Chutes du Carbet, with drops of 377 feet (115 meters), 361 feet (110 meters) and 66 feet (20 meters).
