The Quill is a stratovolcano located on the island of Sint Eustatius in the

Caribbean Netherlands ) , image_map = BES islands location map.svg , map_caption = Location of the Caribbean Netherlands (green and circled). From left to right: Bonaire, Saba, and Sint Eustatius , elevation_max_m = 887 , elevation_max_footnotes = , demographic ...

. The summit elevation is above sea level. It is also the second highest mountain in the Netherlands. The name 'Quill' originates from the Dutch term ''kuil'' (), meaning 'pit' or 'hole', which was used originally with reference to the

volcanic crater A volcanic crater is an approximately circular depression in the ground caused by volcanic activity. It is typically a bowl-shaped feature containing one or more vents. During volcanic eruptions, molten magma and volcanic gases rise from an und ...

. The Quill was designated as a national park by the government of the Netherlands Antilles in 1998. It is administered by the Sint Eustatius National Parks Foundation, STENAPA, which maintains a number of trails for hikers. The Quill formed between 22,000 and 32,000 years ago to the southeast of Sint Eustatius (Statia) in the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...

Pyroclastic flow A pyroclastic flow (also known as a pyroclastic density current or a pyroclastic cloud) is a fast-moving current of hot gas and volcanic matter (collectively known as tephra) that flows along the ground away from a volcano at average speeds of b ...

s during the initial eruption joined The Quill with what is now the rest of Sint Eustatius. The last known eruption, as determined by radiocarbon dating, occurred about 1,600 years ago.

Flora and fauna

The crater of The Quill contains a lush rainforest populated by native and introduced tropical trees and plants. These include elephant ears, tree ferns, begonias,

figs The fig is the edible fruit of ''Ficus carica'', a species of small tree in the flowering plant family Moraceae. Native to the Mediterranean and western Asia, it has been cultivated since ancient times and is now widely grown throughout the world ...

, plantains, bananas,

bromeliads The Bromeliaceae (the bromeliads) are a family of monocot flowering plants of about 80 genera and 3700 known species, native mainly to the tropical Americas, with several species found in the American subtropics and one in tropical west Africa, ...

, trumpet wood, mahogany, seedless breadfruit, Surinam cherry, ginger bush and edible

raspberries The raspberry is the edible fruit of a multitude of plant species in the genus ''Rubus'' of the rose family, most of which are in the subgenus '' Idaeobatus''. The name also applies to these plants themselves. Raspberries are perennial with ...

, as well as at least 17 different kinds of

orchids Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...

. Resident animal species include

iguanas ''Iguana'' (, ) is a genus of herbivorous lizards that are native to tropical areas of Mexico, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. The genus was first described in 1768 by Austrian naturalist Josephus Nicolaus Laurenti in his ...

, anoles, snakes,

Caribbean hermit crab The Caribbean hermit crab (''Coenobita clypeatus''), also known as the soldier crab, West Atlantic crab, tree crab, or purple pincher (due to the distinctive purple claw), is a species of land hermit crab native to the west Atlantic, Belize, ...

s, butterflies, exotic birds, and occasional goats and chickens that have strayed from nearby Oranjestad.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Quill (Volcano) Landforms of Sint Eustatius Volcanoes of the Caribbean Holocene stratovolcanoes Holocene North America Natural history of Sint Eustatius Volcanoes of the Netherlands

Flora and fauna

See also

References