aal Volcano 

(IPA: [taʔal]; Tagalog: Bulkang Taal; Spanish: Volcán Taal) is a large caldera filled

by Taal Lake in the Philippines.[1] Located in the province of Batangas, the volcano is one of the
most active volcanoes in the country, with 34 recorded historical eruptions, all of which were
concentrated on Volcano Island, near the middle of Taal Lake. The caldera was formed
by prehistoric eruptions between 140,000 and 5,380 BP.[2][3]
The volcano is located about 50 kilometers (31 mi) south of Manila, the capital of the
Philippines. Main Crater Lake was temporarily displaced in the 2020 Taal Volcano eruption but
reformed after months by rain when the volcanic activity in the area decreased.
Taal Volcano has had several violent eruptions in the past, causing deaths on the island and the
populated areas surrounding the lake, with an overall death toll of about 6,000. Because of its
proximity to populated areas and its eruptive history, the volcano was designated a Decade Volcano,
worthy of close study to prevent future natural disasters. All volcanoes in the Philippines are part of
the Pacific Ring of Fire.

Contents

 1Etymology
 2Geography
 3Eruptions
o 3.1Pre-20th century
o 3.21911 eruption
 3.2.1Death toll
 3.2.2Aftermath
o 3.31965 to 1977 eruptions
o 3.4Early 21st century
 3.4.12008
 3.4.22009
 3.4.32010
 3.4.42011
o 3.52019 to 2021 activity and eruption
 3.5.12019
 3.5.22020
 3.5.32021
 4Activity monitoring
o 4.1Alert Levels
o 4.2Eruption precursors at Taal
 4.2.1Other possible precursors
 5Taal Volcano on Philippine currency
 6References
 7External links

Etymology[edit]
Taal Volcano was known as Bombou or Bombon in the 1800s.[4][5]
The municipality of Taal and the Taa-lan River (now known as Pansipit River) were named after the
Taa-lan tree, which grows along the river. The tree also grew along the shore of Bombon Lake (now
known as Taal Lake).[6][7] The Taa-lan River was a narrow channel that connects the present-day Taal
Lake and Balayan Bay to each other.
Taal is a Tagalog word in the Batangueño dialect that means true, genuine, and pure.[8]

Geography[edit]
See also: Taal Volcano Main Crater Lake and Vulcan Point
Taal Volcano is part of a chain of volcanoes lining the western edge of the island of Luzon. They
were formed by the subduction of the Eurasian Plate underneath the Philippine Mobile Belt. Taal
Lake lies within a 25–30 km (16–19 mi) caldera formed by explosive eruptions between 140,000 and
5,380 BP.[2] Each of these eruptions created extensive ignimbrite deposits reaching as far away as
present-day Manila.[9]

Teide

Nyiragongo

Vesuvius

Etna

Santorini

Unzen

Sakurajima

Taal

Merapi

Ulawun

Mauna Loa

Colima
Santa María

Avachinsky

Koryaksky

Galeras

Rainier
Taal Volcano is one of the 16 Decade Volcanoes.

Taal Volcano and Lake are entirely located in the province of Batangas. The northern half of Volcano
Island falls under the jurisdiction of the lake shore town of Talisay, and the southern half in San
Nicolas. The other communities that encircle Taal Lake include the cities of Tanauan and Lipa, and
the municipalities of Talisay, Laurel, Agoncillo, Santa Teresita, San
Nicolas, Alitagtag, Cuenca, Balete, and Mataasnakahoy.[10]
Permanent settlement on the island is prohibited by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and
Seismology (PHIVOLCS), declaring the whole Volcano Island as a high-risk area and a Permanent
Danger Zone (PDZ).[11] Despite the warnings, some families remain settled on the island, earning a
living by fishing and farming crops in the rich volcanic soil.[12][13][14][15]
The Main Crater Lake on Volcano Island is the largest lake on an island in a lake on an island in the
world. This lake used to contain Vulcan Point, a small rocky island inside the lake. After the 2020
eruption, the Main Crater Lake temporarily disappeared due to volcanic activity, but had returned by
March 2020.[16] Since the formation of the caldera, subsequent eruptions have created a volcanic
island within the caldera, known as Volcano Island. This 5-kilometre (3.1 mi) island covers an area of
about 23 square kilometres (8.9 sq mi) with the center of the island occupied by the 2-kilometre
(1.2 mi) Main Crater with a single crater lake formed from the 1911 eruption. The island consists of
different overlapping cones and craters, of which forty-seven have been identified. Twenty six of
these are tuff cones, five are cinder cones, and four are maars.[17]

Eruptions[edit]
Pre-20th century[edit]
There were 42 recorded eruptions at Taal between 1572 and 1977. The first recorded eruption
occurred in 1572, the year Augustinian friars founded the town of Taal on the shores of the lake (on
what is now San Nicolas, Batangas). In 1591, another mild eruption took place, producing great
masses of smoke from the crater. From 1605 to 1611, the volcano displayed such great activity that
Father Tomas de Abreu had a huge cross of anubing wood erected on the brink of the crater.[18][19]

The dormant Binintiang Malaki (Big Leg) cone was the center of the 1707 and 1715 eruptions.
Between 1707 and 1731, the center of volcanic activity shifted from the Main Crater to other parts of
Volcano Island. The eruptions of 1707 and 1715 occurred in Binintiang Malaki (Giant Leg) crater, the
cinder cone visible from Tagaytay Ridge, and was accompanied by thunder and lightning. Minor
eruptions also occurred in Binintiang Munti crater on the westernmost tip of the island in 1709 and
1729. A more violent event happened on September 24, 1716, blowing out the entire southeastern
portion of the crater of Calauit, opposite Mount Macolod. Father Manuel de Arce noted that the 1716
eruption "killed all the fishes...as if they had been cooked, since the water had been heated to a
degree that it appeared to have been taken from a boiling caldron". The 1731 eruption off Pira-
Piraso, the eastern tip of the island, created a new island.[20][19]
The Main Crater began experiencing further activity on August 11, 1749, and its eruptions were
particularly violent (VEI = 4) until 1753. Then came the great 200-day eruption of 1754,[17][18] Taal
Volcano's greatest recorded eruption, which lasted from May 15 to December 12. The eruption
caused the relocation of the towns of Tanauan, Taal, Lipa and Sala. The Pansipit River was blocked,
causing the water level in the lake to rise. Father Bencuchillo stated that of Taal, "nothing was
left...except the walls of the church and convent...everything was buried beneath a layer of stones,
mud, and ashes".[20][19]
After the great eruption, Taal Volcano remained quiet for 54 years besides from a minor eruption in
1790. Not until March 1808 did another big eruption occur. While this outbreak was not as violent as
the one in 1754, the immediate vicinity was covered with ashes to a depth of 84 centimetres (33 in).
The eruption brought great changes in the interior of the crater, according to chroniclers of that time.
According to Friar Miguel Saderra Maso, "Before [the eruption], the bottom looked very deep and
seemed unfathomable, but at the bottom, a liquid mass was seen in continual ebullition. After the
eruption, the crater had widened and the pond within it had been reduced to one-third and the rest of
the crater floor was higher and dry enough to walk over it. The height of the crater walls has
diminished and near the center of the new crater floor, a little hill that continually emitted smoke. On
its sides were several wells, one of which was especially remarkable for its size."[20]
On July 19, 1874, an eruption of gases and ashes from the volcano killed all the livestock on the
island of Luzon. From November 12–15, 1878, ashes ejected by the volcano covered the entire
island. Another eruption took place in 1904, which created a new outlet in the southeastern wall of
the principal crater. As of 12 January 2020, the last eruption from the main crater was in 1911, which
obliterated the crater floor creating the present lake. In 1965, a huge explosion sliced off a huge part
of the island, moving activity to a new eruption center, Mount Tabaro.[17]

1911 eruption[edit]

Taal Volcano's crater before the 1911 eruption, with the central cone and one of the lakes on the crater floor

One of the more devastating eruptions of Taal occurred in January 1911. During the night of the 27th
of that month, the seismographs at the Manila Observatory commenced to register frequent
disturbances, which were at first of insignificant importance, but increased rapidly in frequency and
intensity. The total recorded shocks on that day numbered 26. During the 28th there were recorded
217 distinct shocks, of which 135 were microseismic and 10 quite severe. The frequent and
increasingly strong earthquakes caused much alarm in Manila, but the observatory staff was soon
able to locate their epicenter in the region of Taal Volcano and assured the public that Manila was in
no danger, as Taal was some 60 km (37 mi) away, too far to directly damage the city.[21]
In Manila, in the early hours of January 30, 1911, people were awakened by what they at first
perceived as loud thunder. The illusion was heightened when lightning illuminated the southern
skies. A huge, fan-shaped cloud of what looked like black smoke ascended to great heights,
crisscrossed with a brilliant display of volcanic lightning. This cloud finally shot up in the air, spread,
then dissipated, marking the culmination of the eruption, at about 2:30 a.m.[18]
On Volcano Island, the destruction was complete. It seems that when the black, fan-shaped cloud
spread, it created a blast downward that forced hot steam and gases down the slopes of the crater,
accompanied by a shower of hot mud and sand. Many trees had their bark shredded and cut away
from the surface by the hot sand and mud. This shower was the main cause of the loss of life and
destruction of property around the volcano. The fact that practically all the vegetation was bent
downward, away from the crater, suggested that there must have been a very strong blast down the
outside slopes of the cone. Very little vegetation was actually burned or even scorched.[18] Six hours
after the explosion, dust from the crater was noticeable in Manila as it settled on furniture and other
polished surfaces. The solid matter ejected had a volume of between 70 and 80 million cubic metres
(2.5 and 2.8 billion cu ft) (VEI = 3.7). Ash fell over an area of 2,000 square kilometres (770 sq mi),
although the area in which actual destruction took place measured only 230 square kilometres
(89 sq mi).[18] The detonation from the explosion was heard over an area more than 1,000 kilometres
(600 mi) in diameter.[21]
Death toll[edit]
The eruption claimed a reported 1100 lives and injured 199, although it is assumed that more
perished than the official records show. The seven barangays that existed on the island previous to
the eruption were completely wiped out. Post mortem examination of the victims seemed to show
that practically all had died of scalding by hot steam or hot mud, or both. The devastating effects of
the blast reached the west shore of the lake, where a number of villages were also destroyed. 702
cattle were killed and 543 nipa houses destroyed. Crops suffered from the deposit of ashes that fell
to a depth of almost half an inch in places near the shore of the lake.

Main Crater with Vulcan Point Island in 2009

Aftermath[edit]
Volcano Island sank between 1 and 3 m (3 and 10 ft) as a result of the eruption. It was also found
that the southern shore of Lake Taal sank because of the eruption. No evidences of lava could be
discovered anywhere, nor have geologists been able to trace any visible records of a lava flow
having occurred at any time on the volcano during the eruption. Another peculiarity of the geologic
aspects of Taal is the fact that no sulphur has been found on the volcano. The yellow deposits and
encrustations noticeable in the crater and its vicinity are iron salts, according to chemical analysis. A
slight smell of sulfur was perceptible at the volcano, which came from the gases that escaped from
the crater.[18]
Great changes took place in the crater after the eruption. Before 1911, the crater floor was higher
than Taal lake and had several separate openings in which there were lakes of different colors.
There was a green lake, a yellow lake, a red lake and some holes filled with hot water from which
steam issued. Many places were covered with a shaky crust of volcanic material, full of crevices,
which was always hot and on which it was rather dangerous to walk. Immediately after the
explosion, the various colored lakes had disappeared and in their place was one large lake, about
ten feet below the level of the lake surrounding the island. The crater lake gradually rose to the level
of the water in Taal Lake. Popular opinions after the creation of the lake held that the presence of
the water in the crater cooled off the material below and thus lessened the chances of an explosion
or the extinction of the volcano. This explanation has since been rejected by experts.[18] The
subsequent eruptions in 1965 and successive activity came from a new eruptive center, Mount
Tabaro.
Ten years after the eruption, no changes in the general outline of the island could be discerned from
a distance. On the island, however, many changes were noted. The vegetation had increased; great
stretches that were formerly barren and covered with white ashes and cinders became covered with
vegetation.[18]

1965 to 1977 eruptions[edit]

Cinder cone and embayment created by the 1965 eruption

There was another period of volcanic activity on Taal from 1965 to 1977, with the area of activity
concentrated in the vicinity of Mount Tabaro. The 1965 eruption was classified as phreatomagmatic,
[17]
 generated by the interaction of magma with the lake water to produce the violent explosion that
cut an embayment on Volcano Island. The eruption generated "cold" base surges[22] which travelled
several kilometers across Lake Taal, devastating villages on the lake shore and killing about a
hundred people.
One American geologist, who had witnessed an atomic bomb explosion as a soldier, visited the
volcano shortly after the 1965 eruption and recognised "base surge" (now called pyroclastic surge[23])
as a process in volcanic eruption.[24]
Precursory signs were not interpreted correctly until after the eruption; the population of the island
was evacuated only after the onset of the eruption.
After nine months of repose, Taal reactivated on July 5, 1966 with another phreatomagmatic
eruption from Mount Tabaro, followed by another similar eruption on August 16, 1967.
The Strombolian eruptions, which started five months after on January 31, 1968, produced the first
historical lava fountaining witnessed from Taal. Another Strombolian eruption followed a year later
on October 29, 1969. The massive flows from the two eruptions eventually covered the bay created
by the 1965 eruption, reaching the shore of Lake Taal. The last major activities on the volcano
during this period were the phreatic eruptions of 1976 and 1977.[17]

Early 21st century[edit]

Taal Volcano is a complex volcano located on the island of Luzon in the Philippines.

Since the 1977 eruption, the volcano had shown signs of unrest since 1991, with strong seismic
activity and ground fracturing events as well as the formation of small mud pots and mud geysers on
parts of the island. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) regularly
issued notices and warnings about current activity at Taal, including about the ongoing seismic
unrest.[25]
2008[edit]
On August 28, the PHIVOLCS notified the public and authorities that the Taal seismic network
recorded 10 volcanic earthquakes from 05:30 to 15:00.[26]
2009[edit]

Taal Volcano provides a picturesque view from Tagaytay.

2010[edit]
On June 8, the PHIVOLCS raised the volcano status to Alert Level 2[27] (scale is 0–5, 0 referring to
No Alert status), which indicates the volcano is undergoing magmatic intrusion, a precursor to an
eruption. PHIVOLCS reminded the general public that the Main Crater was off-limits due to the
possibility of hazardous steam-driven explosions and build-up of toxic gases. Areas with hot ground
and steam emissions, such as portions of the Daang Kastila Trail, are considered hazardous.[28] From
May 11–24, Main Crater Lake's temperature increased by 2 to 3 K (3.6 to 5.4 °F). The composition
of Main Crater Lake water has shown above normal values of MgCl, SO4Cl, and Total Disso