Billy Mitchell (volcano)
title: "Billy Mitchell (volcano)" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["mountains-of-papua-new-guinea", "volcanoes-of-bougainville-island", "lakes-of-papua-new-guinea", "pyroclastic-shields", "volcanic-crater-lakes", "vei-6-volcanoes", "16th-century-volcanic-events", "shield-volcanoes-of-papua-new-guinea"] topic_path: "general/mountains-of-papua-new-guinea" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Mitchell_(volcano)" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::data[format=table title="Infobox mountain"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Billy Mitchell (volcano) |
| photo | MtBalbiToreNASA.jpg |
| photo_caption | The dark-colored caldera lake of Billy Mitchell is at right, above an ash plume originating from Bagana. |
| elevation_m | 1,544 |
| map | Papua New Guinea |
| location | Bougainville, Papua New Guinea |
| range | Emperor Range |
| coordinates | |
| geology | Andesite, Dacite |
| type | Pyroclastic shield |
| volcanic_zone | Solomon Islands |
| last_eruption | 1580 ± 20 years |
| :: |
| name = Billy Mitchell (volcano) | photo = MtBalbiToreNASA.jpg | photo_caption = The dark-colored caldera lake of Billy Mitchell is at right, above an ash plume originating from Bagana. | elevation_m = 1,544 | map = Papua New Guinea | elevation_ref = | prominence_m = | location = Bougainville, Papua New Guinea | range = Emperor Range | coordinates = | topo = | geology = Andesite, Dacite | type = Pyroclastic shield | age = | volcanic_zone = Solomon Islands | last_eruption = 1580 ± 20 years | first_ascent = | easiest_route =
Billy Mitchell is a dormant pyroclastic shield volcano in central Bougainville, just north-east of the Bagana Volcano in Papua New Guinea. It is a small pyroclastic shield truncated by a 2 km wide caldera filled by a crater lake. It is named after Billy Mitchell, a 20th-century United States Army general who is sometimes regarded as the father of the United States Air Force.
Background
The last two major eruptions were in 1580 AD ± 20 years and about 1030 AD. They were among the largest Holocene eruptions in Papua New Guinea. Both were explosive eruptions with a Volcanic Explosivity Index of at least 5. The 1580 AD ± 20 years eruption produced pyroclastic flows and probably formed its caldera. The second of these eruptions likely had an effect on worldwide temperature, lowering it by 0.2-0.3 degrees celsius for a year or two after the event. The ignimbrite deposit from that eruption, which had a VEI of 6, extends 22 km from the caldera to the coast, and its volume is around 10 km3.
The volcano is considered dormant as its last eruption was over 350 years ago.
Ice core data from the Law Dome ice core in Antarctica shows abundant volcanic glass from an extremely volumous erutption in the mid 1550's. There is some evidence that the Billy Mitchell volcano might be implicated in this euption. However, there is a large discrepancy in calendrical age equivalent. The glass shards, while similar in composition to Billy Mitchell, have a wide range of Silica content (between 60-67%). More research is needed on the petrology of Billy Mitchell lava content to implicate this volcano to the mid 1550's eruption.
Caldera lake
Billy Mitchell caldera lake is about 1,013 m above sea level, has a total surface area of 3 km2, and the maximum depth approximately 88.3 m. The only fish species in the lake is the eel Anguilla megastoma. Billy Mitchell lake drains into the Tekan River.
Name
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/71/William_Mitchell.jpg" caption="General William "Billy" Mitchell"] ::
The volcano was named after Billy Mitchell, a United States Army General who is also considered the father of the United States Air Force. By 1944, this crater lake became known as "Billy Mitchell Crater Lake" on Allied maps. Also known as simply "Mitchell Lake" or "B-25 Lake". It is unclear if this name was due to an aircraft crashed into or near this lake or if it was simply named for U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF) General William "Billy" Mitchell.
References
References
- (May 2018). "Persistent growth of a young andesite lava cone: Bagana volcano, Papua New Guinea". Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research.
- {{cite gvp
- (20 March 2022). "Pacific Wrecks - Mount Bagana (Mt. Bagana) Autonomous Region of Bougainville, Papua New Guinea (PNG)".
- (1998). "Influence of volcanic eruptions on Northern Hemisphere summer temperature over the past 600 years". Nature.
- [http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/volcano.cfm?vnum=0505-011&volpage=erupt The Billy Mitchell erupts] at the Global Volcanism Program website
- "Billy Mitchell".
- (2006). "Collaborative Research: A 700-Year Tephrochronology of the Law Dome Ice Core, East Antarctica". University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports.
- Robert Schabetsberger, Ursula Sichrowsky, Alexander Scheck, Michael Schagerl, Barbara Mähnert, Bettina Sonntag, Karin Pall [https://bioone.org/journalArticle/Download?fullDOI=10.2984%2F71.1.3 First Limnological Characterization of Crater Lake Billy Mitchell (Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea)] Pacific Science, 71(1):29-44 (2017).
- (19 March 2015). "Lake Billy Mitchell". Rotokas Ecotourism.
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