Steam pours from the blocky summit of a lava dome formed at Myojin-sho during a submarine eruption at the Bayonnaise Rocks volcano in 1952. This September 22 photo was taken six days after the dome began to breach the sea surface. Later that day the eruption became highly explosive, and the dome was destroyed. Three cycles of dome growth and destruction occurred until October 1953. Myojin-sho is located on the eastern rim of a 7-9 km wide submarine caldera. Photo courtesy of Helen Foster, 1952 (U.S. Geological Survey).
Chaitén erupted on 2 May, following increased seismicity in the region the day before. A pulsating white to gray ash plume rose to an estimated altitude greater than 21 km (68,900 ft) a.s.l. The Alert Level was raised to Red. According to news sources, ashfall was reported during 2-6 May both locally and up to hundreds of kilometers away, affecting water supplies and roads. On 6 May, the eruption became more forceful and generated a wider and darker gray ash plume to an estimated altitude of 30 km (98,400 ft) a.s.l.
Based on information from RVO, the Darwin VAAC reported that Balbi erupted on 7 May. Ash was not detected on satellite imagery.
The Smithsonian's Global Volcanism Program seeks better understanding of all volcanoes through documenting their eruptions — small as well as large — during the past 10,000 years.
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