Can you tell me anything about the Capelinhos volcano on the island of Fayal in the Azores? It supposedly erupted around 1957/58. Was anyone killed? Damage etc. Any info will greatly be appreciated. The only info I can find is on the adjacent island of Pico.

Don Ford

Hi Don,

"Volcanoes of the World", by Tom Simkin and Lee Seibert, has a section on volcano fatalities. It does not mention the 1957-58 eruption so I assume that it didn't kill anyone.

There is an account of the eruption in:

Machado et al. (1962), Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 67 no. 9, pages 3519-3529. The first part of the abstract of this article says:

A 13-month flank eruption of Fayal volcano occurred in 1957 and 1958. Intermittent violent explosions (phreatomagmatic) and ejection of ash characterized the eruption during its first 8 months. Following a 2-day intense seismic period, Capelinhos volcano entered an effusive phase which continued during the last 5 months of activity; Strombolian activity occurred in the crater vent, and a number of lava flows issued from the base of the cone. An outer, semicircular cinder cone, an inner spatter cone, and associated trphrea deposits added 2.5 square km of new land to Fayal Island...

The eruption occurred off the western tip of Fayal and initially formed an island. As the island grew it eventually joined to the main island of Fayal.

Sincerely,

Scott Rowland

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