My daughter is doing a report on Mont Pelee. She needs to give a 3 minute presentation. The only problem is there is really no information in our local libraries. So far, she only has 1 min. worth of info. I need help! I need info that a 5th grader can understand. Hope you can email me (or fax) so sold info. Following is a list of questions that need to be answered: 
Height and width of volcano
location
current status
history
type of eruption
famous eruption
# of recorded eruptions
effects on nearly population
any other important information or facts

rocky

Dear Leslie:

Mount Pelee (location: 14.8 N, 61.1 W) is an active stratovolcano on the north end of the island of Martinique, in an arc of small islands called the Lesser Antilles, in the West Indies. The volcano rises 4,584 feet (1,397 m) above sea level and is 9 miles (15 km) across. It rises 9,000 feet (2,743 m) above the sea floor. A crater at the summit of the volcano is 3,300 feet (1,000 m) in diameter. The domes from the 1902 and 1929 eruptions were extruded within this crater. Fifteen know eruptions occurred between 7,225 years ago and 1,460 years ago. Mount Pelee erupted five times since 1635 AD, most recently in 1932. Explosive eruptions at Mount Pelee originate from a central vent and produce pyroclastic flows. Many eruptions constructed volcanic domes. The two most recent eruptions, which began in 1902 and 1929, produced volcanic spines.
Mount Pelee is famous for the May 8, 1902, eruption which generated a nuee ardente that buried the town of Saint Pierre. The town's 28,000 inhabitants were killed. A second large pyroclastic flow reached the ruins of the town on May 20. Several others eruptions produced pyroclastic flows. A large pyroclastic flow on August 30 buried the town of Morne Rouge, killing 1,000 people. A volcanic spine began to grow above the vent in November of 1902. In seven months, the spine grew 1,150 feet (350 m) tall and then fell apart rapidly. Activity ended in October 1905. A detailed account of the 1902 eruption is presented in Peter Francis' book called Volcanoes.

Steve Mattox, University of North Dakota

Sources of Information:

Decker, R., and Decker, B., 1989, Volcanoes: W.H. Freeman, New York, 285 p.

Francis, P., 1994, Volcanoes a planetary perspective: Oxford University Press, New York, 443 p.

LaCroix, A., 1904, La Montagne Pelee et ses eruptions: Paris, Masson et Cie, 662 p.

Perret, F.A., 1937, The eruption of Mount Pelee 1929-32: Carnegie Institution of Washington, No. 458. Washington, DC, 126 p.

Robson, G.R., and Tomblin, J.F., 1966, Catalogue of the active volcanoes of the world including solfatara fields, Part XX West Indies: International Association of Volcanology, Rome, Italy, 55 p.

Simkin, T., and Siebert, L., 1994, Volcanoes of the world: Geoscience Press, Tucson, Arizona, 349 p.

Smith, A.S., and Roobol, M.J., 1990, Mt. Pelee Martinique; A study of an active island-arc volcano: Geological Society of America Memoir 175, Boulder, Colorado, 105 p. 

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