ISS036-E-5647 Click the photo number to access all resolutions available and the database record.
According to the Smithsonian Institution Global Volcanism Program, the most recent report of eruption activity at Gaua was a steam plume observed on April 29, 2013. This photograph records subsequent steam emissions observed on May 31, 2013, by an astronaut on the International Space Station. The steam plume extends east-southeast from its likely source at Mount Gharat (also spelled Garat or Garet), a historically active cinder cone located along the southwest flank of a 6 by 9 kilometer (4 by 6 mile) collapsed summit caldera. Gaua is one of several volcanoes monitored by the Vanuatu Geohazards Observatory.
The dark blue-green waters of Lake Letas, formed within the caldera, are visible at image center. The majority of Santa Maria Island is covered in green vegetation, with areas directly west and south of Mount Gharat covered with grey ash deposits. Patchy cloud cover is visible to the west and south, but is easily distinguished from the steam plume by its linear nature and brighter tone.
