Musuan Peak
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| Musuan Peak | |
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 Musuan Peak, an active volcano |
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  Musuan Peak
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| Elevation | 646 metres (2,119 ft)[1] |
| Location | Mindanao, Bukidnon, Philippines |
| Coordinates | 7°52′36″N 125°4′6″E / 7.87667°N 125.06833°ECoordinates: 7°52′36″N 125°4′6″E / 7.87667°N 125.06833°E[1] |
| Type | Lava dome |
| Easiest route | Hike |
Musuan Peak or Mount Musuan, also known as Mount Calayo (literally "Fire Mountain") is an active volcano in the Philippines.
Musuan is located on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines. It is 4.5 kilometres south of the city of Valencia, province of Bukidnon, and 81 km southeast of Cagayan de Oro City.
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[edit] Physical characteristics
Musuan is a lava dome and tuff cone.
It has an elevation of 646 meters asl, and a base diameter of 3 km.
[edit] Eruptions
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology reports that Musuan erupted in 1866 and 1867, but the Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanism Program records another eruption, possibly phreatic, that "burned everything around it." The explosion supposedly occurred four years before the 1891 visit of a Jesuit priest, who reported that he could not examine the volcano more closely because of strong solfataric activity.[1]
A strong seismic swarm occurred near Musuan in 1976.[1]
Musuan is one of the active volcanos in the Philippines, which are all part of the Pacific ring of fire.
[edit] Tourism
Mt. Musuan's lack of any visible indication of it being a volcano has lead to several local skepticism of it being an active volcano. Locals have on more than one occasion insisted that the Musuan Peak proper is not the actual volcano but is only the lava dome. The actual crater is supposedly the nearby rift lake Lake Apo(variations of which lake exactly range from the Lake Lanao to the much smaller Lake Pinamaloy).
Still, the imagery evoked by its name variant 'Mount Calayo' (Fire Mountain) and the stories told by local Bukidnon tribesmen keeps people wary of the relatively small mountain which doesn't look at all like a volcano.
Due to its proximity to the government-run Central Mindanao University and the University town proper, it has become a popular destination for students and teachers alike, either for picnics or a study of the flora and fauna of one of the few remnants of the jungles that once covered the valleys of the surrounding areas. Due to its isolated position in the middle of the valley and the very small surface area of its highest point (only a few meters), the entire countryside is visible from the top. Currently its slopes has been the target of extensive reforestation efforts partly paid for by the establishment of toll gates to hikers intending to go up the mountain.
The Mt. Musuan Zoological and Botanical Garden of the University are also currently housed on its slopes. It includes a butterfly greenhouse and a reforestation nursery among its buildings.
[edit] See also
- Active volcanos in the Philippines
- Potentially active volcanos in the Philippines
- Inactive volcanos in the Philippines
- Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology
- Volcano
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d "Musuan". Global Volcanism Program, Smithsonian Institution. http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/volcano.cfm?vnum=0701-07=. Retrieved December 5, 2009.
