No latest activity reported for Bam.

Below is a summary of eruption dates and Volcanic Explosivity Indices (VEI).

The following references are the sources used for data regarding this volcano. References are linked directly to our volcano data file. Discussion of another volcano or eruption (sometimes far from the one that is the subject of the manuscript) may produce a citation that is not at all apparent from the title. Additional discussion of data sources can be found under Volcano Data Criteria.

Cooke R J S, Johnson R W, 1978. Volcanoes and volcanology in Papua New Guinea. {Geol Surv Papua New Guinea Rpt}, 78/2: 1-46

Cooke R J S, Johnson R W, 1981. Bam volcano: morphology, geology, and reported eruptive history. {Geol Surv Papua New Guinea Mem}, 10: 13-22

Fisher N H, 1957. Melanesia. {Catalog of Active Volcanoes of the World and Solfatara Fields}, Rome: IAVCEI, 5: 1-105

Hantke G, 1959. Ubersicht uber die Vulkanische Tatigkeit 1954-1956. {Bull Volc}, 20: 3-36

Johnson R W, 1987. Large-scale volcanic cone collapse: the 1888 slope failure of Ritter volcano, and other examples from Papua New Guinea. {Bull Volc}, 49: 669-679

Johnson R W, Taylor G A M, Davies R A, 1972. Geology and petrology of Quaternary volcanic islands off the north coast of New Guinea. {Aust Bur Min Resour Geol Geophys Rec}, 1972/21: 1-127

Lowenstein P L, 1982. Problems of volcanic hazards in Papua New Guinea. {Geol Surv Papua New Guinea Rpt}, 82/7: 1-62

Silver E, Day S, Ward S, Hoffmann G, Llanes P, Driscoll N, Appelgate B, Saunders S, 2009. Volcano collapse and tsunami generation in the Bismarck Volcanic Arc, Papua New Guinea. {J Volc Geotherm Res}, 186: 210-222

The small 2.4 x 1.6 km island of Bam is the summit of a mostly submerged volcano that is one of the more active in Papua New Guinea. Bam is the SE-most of the Schouten Islands, and lies off the coast of New Guinea, about 40 km NNE of the mouth of the Sepik River. A steep-walled summit crater that is 300 m wide and 180 m deep is the source of Bam's recent eruptions, which have kept the upper half of the cone sparsely vegetated. A NE-trending landslide scarp extends across the upper part of the andesitic volcano from the SW coast, and a large submarine debris-avalanche deposits lies to the south and SW. The younger summit cone partially buries the eastern side of the collapse scarp. A recent lava platform on the north flank supports the small island's only villages. Historical eruptions, recorded since 1872, have been restricted to small-to-moderate explosive activity from the summit crater.