Axial Volcano on the Juan de Fuca Ridge

Apparently the Axial Volcano erupted in early April 2011, say scientists.

An undersea volcano has erupted off the coast of Oregon, spewing forth a layer of lava more than 12 feet thick in some places, and opening up deep vents that belch forth a cloudy stew of hot water and microbes from deep inside the Earth. Scientists uncovered evidence of the early April eruption on a routine expedition in late July to the Axial Seamount, an underwater volcano that stands 250 miles off the coast of Oregon

hisz.rsoe.hu...

More info on past eruptions www.pmel.noaa.gov...

Thanx for posting this. I had no idea that this region was volcanic and it's good to know that it's being monitored so closely. Amazing that so much change can occur in just one year! Seems like they were very surprised as well. I read in your link that this area is very active and wonder if this recent "lava lake" activity will have any bearing on the fault, perhaps weakening it?? I think that this fault will probably be the next disaster source. What do you think?

reply to post by Tasty Canadian


Its an area to look out for im sure. Perhaps Puterman and or Westcoast know a bit more,Im far from being an expert.

Here is a good link with more info www.pmel.noaa.gov...

So all this time I'm waiting for something to go off on the Juan de Fuca fault, so that the ring of fire's activity would be consistent. And Juan went off? So the whole ring is has been active in the last 18 months?

No, the Juan De Fuca did NOT go 'off'. This is a volcano that they have apparantly known about since 98, but it wasn't until this past week that they discovered a new lava flow on the sea bed and were able to determine that the eruption took place on April 9th (of this year...two weeks after the Japan quake)

There are actually several volcanos off-shore. There was a recent article going around here about undersea volcanos in General. You are especially going to find them in areas of subduction zones....hence the cascade range.

For those familiar with this region, it shouldn't be at all surprising to hear about these volcanos...I mean, our whole coast is littered with them. I am surrounded by active volcanos...one hangs over the City of Seattle.

Is it exciting to hear about? Most definately! The more they know of and can therefore study, the bigger picture they get which may some day help contribute to forcasating when the next 'big one' may be. The ultimate goal. At the rate we are going however, I don't think it'll come soon enough.

I especially like this quote from the article:

"The acid test in science - whether or not you understand a process in nature - is to try to predict what will happen based on your observations," he says.

source

For anyone interested in learning more about this area, I discuss another off-shore volcano and some theories in my washington state thread (link in my sig). I take it all a bit further in a more recent thread...my 'putting it all together' one, also in my signature line. This recent eruption is another important piece to this ever-growing puzzle!

Here are some pics of some of the volcanos near me:

Mount Baker as seen near my home:


Mount Rainier up close near Pacwood, wa:



Mount Rainier as seen from I5 near Seattle, wa



Mount Saint Helens as seen South of Seattle near the Oregon border:



Ironically, the closest volcano to me is also the most dangerous, but not visible. I didn't even know it was there until last year,....called Glacier Peak. SO...no pics

Visit my other threads for all sorts of maps and info!