Bagana is an active
volcanic cone
Volcanic cones are among the simplest volcanic landforms. They are built by ejecta from a volcanic vent, piling up around the vent in the shape of a cone with a central crater. Volcanic cones are of different types, depending upon the nature and s ...
located in the centre of the island of
Bougainville,
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...
, the largest island of the
Solomon group. It is the most active volcano in the country, occupying a remote portion of central Bougainville Island. It is one of Melanesia's youngest and most active volcanoes.
Bagana is a massive symmetrical, roughly 1893m-high lava cone largely constructed by an accumulation of viscous andesitic lava flows. The entire lava cone could have been constructed in about 300 years at its present rate of lava production. Eruptive activity at Bagana is frequent and is characterized by non-explosive effusion of viscous lava that maintains a small lava dome in the summit crater, although explosive activity occasionally producing pyroclastic flows also occurs. Lava flows form dramatic, freshly preserved tongue-shaped lobes up to 50 m thick with prominent levees that descend the volcano's flanks on all sides.
Just north-east of Bagana is the volcano crater lake
Billy Mitchell
William Lendrum Mitchell (December 29, 1879 – February 19, 1936) was a United States Army officer who had a major role in the creation of the United States Air Force.
Mitchell served in France during World War I and, by the conflict's end, ...
. Bagana is one of 17 post-Miocene
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 ...
es on Bougainville. U.S. General
Floyd L. Parks flew over the
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...
on 27 October 1948 and witnessed the eruption of Bagana. His photographs of Bagana erupting were published in the magazine ''
Life
Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...
''.
See also

*
List of volcanoes in Papua New Guinea
This is a list of active and extinct volcanoes in Papua New Guinea.
New Guinea
Admiralty Islands
Bougainville
D'Entrecasteaux Islands
New Britain
New Ireland
Offshore islands
References
* Volcanoes of the World
Ex ...
References
Mountains of Papua New Guinea
Volcanoes of Bougainville Island
Active volcanoes
Stratovolcanoes of Papua New Guinea
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