Mt. Mayon in Albay
RARE VOLCANIC LANDFORM!
You have never been to Bicol if you have not seen the rare sight of a mountain that looks like a cone. To continue our Bulkan Ng Bikol series, today we revisit Mt. Mayon in Albay.
Majestic at a height of 2,462 meters, Mayon’s almost perfectly shaped cone resulted from centuries of explosions and erosions. It is a stratovolcano composed of layers of hardened lava, volcanic ash, and other eruptive materials.
Mayon sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire with more than 450 volcanoes that stretch about 40,000 km between the boundaries of the Philippine Sea plate, the Pacific Plate, the Juan de Fuca and Cocos plates, and the Nazca Plate. It is also part of the Bicol Volcanic Arc, which consists of at least 12 older volcanoes.
Mayon is one of the country’s most active volcanoes. It has erupted 52 times since its first reported eruption in 1616. The most destructive was a Plinian eruption in 1814 that affected Camalig, Cagsaua, Budiao, Guinobatan, and half of Albay. About 1,200 people died in lahar and pyroclastic flow. The next was on June 4 to July 23, 1897, with casualties reaching 350. Check this link for its complete history: https://bit.ly/3B8Bjsx.
Its most recent eruption was recorded in 2018 characterized by Strombolian type of eruption. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) upgraded Mayon’s alert level to one (1) last August 21, 2022, as it entered a period of unrest.
The United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) included the Mayon Volcano Natural Park (MVNP) in the tentative list of World Heritage Sites last 2015. It is presently home to diverse floral and faunal species.
A boulder of rock from Mayon Volcano can be seen at the entrance of the National Museum of Natural History in Manila. Here’s the rear aerial view of your National Museum Bicol taken in 2020 with Mayon as its permanent backdrop.
National Museum of the Philippines (2022)
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