Mount Iraya, is an active

stratovolcano A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a typically conical volcano built up by many alternating layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile with ...

on Batan Island, and is the highest point in the province of

Batanes Batanes, officially the Province of Batanes (; Ilocano: ''Probinsia ti Batanes''; , ), is an archipelagic province in the Philippines, administratively part of the Cagayan Valley region. It is the northernmost province in the Philippines, an ...

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. It is adjacent to another volcanic edifice, Mount Matarem.

Location

Iraya is located on Batan Island, one of the islands in the

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

, in the

Luzon Strait The Luzon Strait (Tagalog: ''Kipot ng Luzon'', ) is the strait between Luzon and Taiwan. The strait thereby connects the Philippine Sea to the South China Sea in the western Pacific Ocean. This body of water is an important strait for shipp ...

, north of the island of

Luzon Luzon ( , ) is the largest and most populous List of islands in the Philippines, island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the List of islands of the Philippines, Philippine archipelago, it is the economic and political ce ...

, in the Philippines. It is the northernmost active volcano in the Philippines.

Physical features

Iraya is a heavily forested

, with an elevation of asl, and a base diameter of .

Volcanic activity

While Mount Iraya last erupted in 1454, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) still considers it as one of the active volcanoes in the Philippines. In 1998, volcanologists recorded seismic swarms which led them to form a monitoring network on Batan Island for several months. After the swarms of tremors had diminished, the temporary stations in

Barangay The barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as ''barrio'', is the smallest Administrative divisions of the Philippines, administrative division in the Philippines. Named after the Precolonial barangay, precolonial po ...

San Joaquin in

Basco, Batanes Basco, officially the Municipality of Basco (; Ilocano: ''Ili ti Basco''; ), is a municipality and capital of the province of Batanes, Philippines. In the 2020 census, it had a population of 9,517 people. Basco is the most populous town in B ...

and another near the crater, were pulled out. Seismicity or any activity relating to Iraya is still monitored by the Basco Seismological Station.

Volcanoes A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often fo ...

of the Philippines are all part of the

Pacific ring of fire The Ring of Fire (also known as the Pacific Ring of Fire, the Rim of Fire, the Girdle of Fire or the Circum-Pacific belt) is a tectonic belt of volcanoes and earthquakes. It is about long and up to about wide, and surrounds most of the Pa ...

Mythology

Mount Iraya is a sacred mountain for the Ivatan people. There are two contrasting tales regarding the mountain. The first tale states that the mountain is a mother looking over her children - the Ivatans - to ensure their protection. On the other hand, the second tale states that if a ring of clouds appear on top of the mountain, Iraya is notifying the people for preparation due to an inevitable death of an elder, usually due to natural causes.

References

External links