La Grande Soufrière

Not to be confused with La Soufrière (volcano) or Soufrière Hills.

La Grande Soufrière
Highest point
Elevation
Prominence
Coordinates
Geography
La Grande Soufrière is located in Guadeloupe La Grande Soufrière Guadeloupe, Caribbean
Geology
Mountain type	Stratovolcano
Volcanic arc/belt	Lesser Antilles Volcanic Arc
Last eruption	1976 to 1977

La Grande Soufrière, (French: "big sulphur outlet"), is an active stratovolcano on the French island of Basse-Terre, in Guadeloupe. It is the highest mountain peak in the Lesser Antilles, and rises 1,467 m high.

The volcano's 1976 eruption led to an evacuation but no loss of life. There was a bitter, and well-publicized, controversy between scientists Claude Allègre and Haroun Tazieff on whether evacuation should be decided. Allègre held that inhabitants should be evacuated, just in case, while Tazieff held that the Soufrière was harmless. The prefect decided to evacuate, erring on the side of prudence: in the end the eruption did not result in any damage.

While the island was deserted, the German filmmaker Werner Herzog traveled to the abandoned town of Basse-Terre to find a peasant who had refused to leave his home on the slopes of the volcano. His journey is recorded in the film La Soufrière.

• Guadeloupe 116 - Sommet de la Soufrière 1467m - Guadeloupe.jpg
• 
• Guadeloupe 108 - lac Flamarion - sommet de la citerne 1155m - massif de la Soufrière.jpg
• Soufriere Guadeloupe Gouffre Tarissan.JPG
• Eboulement Faujas - La Soufrière - Guadeloupe.JPG

See also

• List of volcanoes in Guadeloupe
• Guadeloupe National Park

References

• Global Volcanism Program
• OVSG : Observatoire volcanologique et sismologique de Guadeloupe
• Parc National de la Guadeloupe, manager of the top of the Soufrière

Guadeloupe contains a volcano named La Grande Soufriere and it is still active.It was created over an extensive base of Pliocene volcanic rocks.