Tatun Volcanic Group

About

The Tatun Volcanic Group or Tatun Volcano Group (TVG) (pinyin: Dàtún Huǒshān Qún) constitutes a group of volcanoes located in northern Taiwan. It is located 15 km north of Taipei, and lies to the west of Keelung. It just adjoins the northern coast of the Taiwan island. The volcanic group was a result of episodic volcanism between 2.8 and 0.2 Ma. Research in the 2020s suggest that there were eruptions more recently than 0.2 Ma. The last eruption occurred in the year 648. As of 2005, some geothermal activity was occurring and gas fumaroles were active among these volcanoes. Observations of the Tatun Volcanic Group suggest that magma chambers probably still exist under the land surface of northern Taiwan. Data collected between 2019 and 2022 have shown that the group has a magmatic-hydrothermal system that is degassing. Fluid pressure from the system is causing microearthquakes. The Taiwan Volcano Observatory (TVO) at Tatun in Yangmingshan National Park, affiliated with Academia Sinica’s Institute of Earth Sciences, monitors the group. The TVO has multi-volcano real-time monitoring systems and conducts analysis in earth-crust transformation, geochemistry, seismology, thermometry, and more. In 2002 the TVG was listed as a potential World Heritage Site.

Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Photography via Wikimedia Commons.