Mount Pelée. Mount Pelée is an active volcano at the northern end of the island and French overseas department of Martinique in the Lesser Antilles island arc of the Caribbean. It is among the deadliest stratovolcanoes on Earth. Its volcanic cone is composed of layers of volcanic ash and hardened lava. The volcano is famous for its eruption in 1902 and the destruction that resulted, dubbed the worst volcanic disaster of the 20th century.
The eruption killed about 30,000 people. Most deaths were caused by… read more pyroclastic flows and occurred in the city of Saint-Pierre, which was, at that time, the largest city on the island. Categories: Volcanoes Links: en.wikipedia.org By: kjfitz. How Volcanoes Work - the eruption of Mt. Pelee, Martinique. OVERVIEW: The Tropical Paradise of St. Pierre The infamous volcano of Mt. Pelée, shown in this 1987 photo, looms over the village of St. Pierre on the French Caribbean Island of Martinique. Although in January 1902 Mt. As the summit eruptions intensified, water in the Etang Sec crater lake was heated to near boiling. Living near the volcano became increasingly stressful, leading many to consider leaving St.
The election scheduled for May 11 would not take place. The dynamic cloud of hot gases and incandescent solid particles that destroyed St. Although there were only two survivors in St. The tales of the two male survivors of St. A young shoemaker, Léon Compere-Léandre, was sitting on his doorstep when the nuée ardente hit. The only other known survivor in St. One of the most incredible escapes from Mt. Frightened, Havivra ran to the shore and jumped into her brother's small boat and headed along the shore to a cave that she used to play pirate in with her friends. Mount Pelee Facts | InterestingFacts.org. Map of Martinique - Caribbean Island Maps, Martinique Map Information. Martinique was originally inhabited by Arawaks from South America, and the majority of those early inhabitants were killed by an eruption of Mount Pelee in 295 AD. Near 400 AD, the long-vanquished Arawaks returned to the island. Around 600 AD, the cannibalistic Caribs arrived, exterminated the Arawaks and permanently settled on the island.
Columbus charted the island in 1493, then landed on Martinique (near Le Carbet) in 1502 during his fourth voyage to the 'New World.' However, the Spanish found little value here, and sailed south for greener pastures. In 1635, from the island of St Kitts, the French sent a group of one hundred settlers to Martinique; they built a small settlement and over the next few decades they took control of the island, and destroyed many of the Caribs that still called it home. For over one hundred and fifty years, slavery, and slave revolts, would be a major influence on the economy and politics of the Martinique.
By 1888, Martinique's population neared 175,000. Map of Mount Pelee, Martinique. MT. PELEE.