World Map › Rabaul (Tavurvur)
Volcano
Rabaul (Tavurvur)
Caldera · 688 m · Papua New Guinea
Rabaul (Tavurvur) sits on the South Bismarck Plate, in a subduction zone. 19 eruptions are known since the end of the last ice age, the most recent in 2014. Its major eruptions caused at least 519 deaths.
Rabaul is a caldera flooded by the sea, in north-eastern New Britain in Papua New Guinea, and it shelters one of the finest natural harbours in the Pacific.
In September 1994 two of its volcanoes, Tavurvur and Vulcan, erupted at the same time and buried the town of Rabaul in ash. Thanks to a swift evacuation there were only a few victims, but the provincial capital had to move to Kokopo.
- Elevation
- 688 m
- Type
- Caldera
- Tectonic Setting
- Subduction zone, continental crust
- Dominant Rock
- Dacite
- Plate
- South Bismarck Plate
- Country
- Papua New Guinea
- Last Eruption
- 2014
- Known Eruptions (Holocene)
- 19
- Max. Explosivity (VEI)
- 6
- Known Fatalities
- 519
Notable Eruptions
Eruptions that caused deaths or damage, or with an explosivity index of 4 and above (NOAA).
- 19941994 Eruption · VEI 35 deaths
- 19901990 Eruption6 deaths
- 19371937 Eruption · VEI 4507 deaths
- 18781878 Eruption · VEI 31 death
- 18501850 Eruption · VEI 2
- 683683 Eruption · VEI 6
Eruption Timeline
Each bar is an eruption; its height shows its explosivity (VEI 0 to 8).
Eruption Deadly Eruption (NOAA) Uncertain Date
Sources : Global Volcanism Program, 2026. Volcanoes of the World (v. 5.4.0; 7 Aug 2026), Smithsonian Institution, doi:10.5479/si.GVP.VOTW5-2026.5.4 (volcano.si.edu) · NOAA NCEI · USGS · Wikidata