La Grande Soufrière

Infobox Mountain
Name=La Grande Soufrière
Photo=Guadeloupe 114 - Sommet de la Soufrière 1467m - Guadeloupe.jpg
Caption=
Elevation=1,467 metres
Location=Guadeloupe, Caribbean
Prominence =
Coordinates = coord|16|3|N|61|40|W|type:mountain
Topographic

Type=Stratovolcano
Age=
Last eruption=1977
First ascent=
Easiest route=

La Grande Soufrière, (French: "big sulphur outlet"), is an active stratovolcano located on the French island of Basse-Terre, in Guadeloupe. It is the tallest mountain in the Lesser Antilles, and rises 1,467 m high.

The volcano's 1976 eruption led to an evacuation but no loss of life. There was a well-publicized bitter controversy between scientists Claude Allègre and Haroun Tazieff on whether evacuation should be decided: Allègre held that inhabitants should be evacuated, just in case, while Tazieff held that the "Soufrière" was harmless. The prefect decided to evacuate, erring on the side of prudence; the eruption did not result in any damage.

Whilst the island was deserted, the German filmmaker Werner Herzog travelled to the abandoned town of Basse-Terre to find a peasant who had refused to leave his home on the slopes of the volcano. His journey is recorded in the film "La Soufrière".

References

* [http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/volcano.cfm?vnum=1600-06= Global Volcanism Program]
* [http://www.ipgp.jussieu.fr/pages/030304.php OVSG : Observatoire volcanologique et sismologique de Guadeloupe]
* [http://www.guadeloupe-parcnational.com Parc National de la Guadeloupe, manager of the top of the Soufrière]

See also

*List of volcanoes in Guadeloupe
*Guadeloupe National Park