The beautiful Morne Trois Pitons National Park located in the southern central part of Dominica includes several amazing rare landforms, showcasing a large range of biodiversity. This blog will focus specifically on the 1,342 meters high volcano pile: Morne Trois Pitons, the fifty fumaroles, the world's second largest boiling lake, and the deep faults featured in its valleys.
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| Morne Trois Pitons, located east of Roseau (friendsofworldheritage.org) |
Morne Trois Pitons, which translates to "mountain of three peaks", is actually three balsaltic spike-like remains from large amounts of lava spill that occurred during the Miocene period. The five active volcanoes in this park are shield volcanoes. Since lava flows have a low angle which produce visible escaping gas, there are areas in the park that feature many fumaroles.
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| The Valley of Desolation features more than fifty fumaroles and hot springs. (tripadvisor.com) |
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| Due to volcanic activity, the landscape is constantly changing under different stresses creating faults in the landscape. (en.wikipedia.org) |
The Valley of Desolation, named in reference to its contrasting barren landscape, is a dramatic example of active volcanism. Fumaroles are openings in the Earth's crust that emit gases and steam. Due to the major volcanic explosion combined with the constant emissions, the landscape lacks vegetation.
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| My volunteer group and me on the trail in the Valley of Desolation on our way to the boiling lake. You can see in comparison to us how much steam some of the fumaroles produce. |
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| A view of the boiling lake on a very clear day. There was so much steam from the lake that this is the clearest picture I have of the lake itself. The boiling lake is a flooded fumarole that is about sixty three meters across. The water collected from rainfall seeps through the bottom and is heated past the boiling point by the hot lava. An investigation of this phenomenon reported in the late 1800's conveys that a geyser actually developed in the center of the lake. This geyser can spew boiling water and mud up to eighteen meters high. The water along the edges of the lake have been measured to be 180 to 197 degrees Fahrenheit. |
Sources: Virtual Dominica (http://www.avirtualdominica.com/worldheritagesite.cfm); UNESCO World Heritage Center (http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/814)
Wow, amazing job! Your blog is very descriptive and knowledgeable; the captions of the pics add an extra element that helps readers (such as myself) get a better understanding of the exact geo under observation. There are only 2 small aspects of your blog I would recommended changing: first, the More Trois Pitons seem very interesting and I wish you would have gone into more detail about the specific basalt “spike-like remains” and exactly what type of form they are. The second issue I’m not even sure if you’re even wrong but in one of your captions you mention that volcanic activity is causing faults,as I understood it from Dr. Allen’s lecture faulting is created by compression and extension of land. Other than that stupendous work!!
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