A little history
It was in 1635 that the first Europeans settled in Martinique, particularly on the site that would give rise to the town of Saint-Pierre. Mount Pelée had just erupted, creating a dome in the summit crater. Vegetation was destroyed on a large part of the volcano's flanks and throughout the summit area, which probably explains the name Mount Pelée that the first inhabitants gave to this volcano. Two phreatic eruptions (without the supply of magma to the surface) occurred in the 18th and 19th centuries.The eruption of 1902-1905:
The first signs of reactivation of Mount Pelée can be considered to have occurred as early as 1889, with the appearance of fumaroles in the summit crater of Etang Sec. But it was not until 1900 and especially at the beginning of 1902 that the number and intensity of the fumaroles increased regularly until April 23, 1902, when the first phreatic explosion occurred.
On May 8, at 8:02 a.m., a violent explosion was heard at the summit of the volcano. The explosion was due to the conservation and sudden release of part of the magmatic gases contained inside the dome and at the top of the supply conduit; it was therefore superficial.
Volcanic activity continued until early 1905. The growth of the viscous lava dome was punctuated by numerous collapses of unstable parts generating pyroclastic flows of another type (flows of ash and blocks called "avalanche fire clouds"), less energetic than the previous ones, which flowed into the valley of the Rivière Blanche, partially filling it. It was during this period that the famous needle, a viscous lava piston, rose at the top of the dome, reaching a height of 350 m before collapsing completely (Lacroix, 1904). Its diameter, around fifty meters, can be considered to correspond to that of the supply conduit.
Chronology of the eruption of May 8, 1902
23.04.1902 24.04.1902 25.04.1902 26.05.1902 27.04.1902 28.04.1902 29.04.1902 30.04.1902 01.05.1902 02.05.1902 03.05.1902 04.05.1902 06.05.1902 07.05.1902 08.05.1902 09.05.19026362 Mhz 6523 Mhz 6637 Mhz 6744 Mhz 6787 Mhz 6793 Mhz 6814 Mhz 6847 Mhz 6871 Mhz - - - - - 6971 Mhz (exactly the same as for the Aquila! 5677 Mhz
