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Mount Gharat

Coordinates: 14°16′S 167°30′E / 14.27°S 167.5°E / -14.27; 167.5
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mount Gharat (Mount Garet)
Mount Gharat and Lake Letas
Highest point
Elevation797 m (2,615 ft)[1]
Prominence797 m (2,615 ft)
Coordinates14°16′S 167°30′E / 14.27°S 167.5°E / -14.27; 167.5[1]
Geography
Mt Garet, in the middle of Gaua island
LocationGaua, Banks Islands, Vanuatu
Geology
Mountain typeSomma-Stratovolcano
Last eruption2011[1]

Mount Gharat or Mount Garet (797 m), a somma volcano, is the highest peak on the volcanic island of Gaua of the Banks Islands in northern Vanuatu.

Geography

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The peak is located at the centre of the island, is volcanically active and is surrounded by Lake Letas on all sides except the southwest.

Name

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The volcano has slightly different names, depending on which of the local languages is being considered. It is known as Garet [ɣaˈrɛt] in Nume, Grāt [ɣraːt] in Dorig, Gerät [ɣɛˈrɛ​͡at] in Koro, Gäräs [ɣæˈræs] in Lakon. The spelling Gharat found sometimes on maps is an attempt at transcribing Mota or Olrat Garat [ɣarat].

All these names come from a Proto-Torres-Banks form *ɣarati, whose literal meaning is “itching, burning” ‒ perhaps in relation to the volcano's toxic fumes.

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Gaua". Global Volcanism Program. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2020-08-29.