Wanderlust World Wanderlust World Rabaul is on the northern tip of Papua New Guinea's island province of East New Britain, and is named after the surrounding Rabaul Township. The tropical and mountainous Papua New Guinea occupies the eastern half of the island of New Guinea, which is situated in Oceania, a group of islands east of Indonesia between the Coral Sea and the South Pacific Ocean.
The Rabaul Caldera is a semi-circular complex that houses several small conical volcanoes. Vulcan and Tavuruur are two of the active volcanoes of the Rabaul Caldera that are most recognizable. Other volcanoes in the complex include Turanguna, Rabalanakia, Sulphur Creek, Kombiu (Mother) and Beehives. The Rabaul Caldera is a complex of shield volcanoes. Shield volcanoes are formed by fluid lava flows from previous eruptions that cool in a flat, dome-like shape that resembles a warrior's shield.
Rabaul Volcano complex stretches 9 miles by 12 miles and has created clouds of ash that extend up to 11 miles high. Plumes, which are releases of molten material, from previous eruptions of Rabaul have extended almost 400 miles from the volcano and 60,000 feet high. Because shield volcanoes are typically tame compared with their counterparts, eruptions at Rabaul are comparatively small.
The eruptions that formed the Rabaul Caldera were completed in about 599 A.D. Throughout history, several eruptions aided in forming the small cone volcanoes in the complex. The Vulcan and Tavuruur volcanoes of Rabaul are responsible for the most recent eruptions, which took place in 1937 and 1994. Rabalanakaia volcano, on the northeast side of the caldera, also erupted in 1994. The 1994 eruption began on September 18 and lasted about five days.
The 1937 eruption killed about 500 people. With better technology and emergency preparedness, the 1994 eruption killed fewer than 10 people. The 1994 Rabaul eruption destroyed the city of Rabaul. All of the city's businesses and services relocated to nearby Kokopo. Most parts of Rabaul remain covered in layers of ash, but visitors are able to climb all of the volcanoes except Tavuruur.