Yasur volcano Tanna Island

Information about Yasur volcano can be read here, along with an interactive java applet demonstrating its formation.

Please note the files on this page are large and may take a while to load.

Yasur at dawn. The fog is over lake Siwi. Used March 2005 for a postage stamp in Vanuatu.

10 minutes later (yep, same tree, different angle)

5 minutes after that... (used in National Geographic).

30 minutes after I started shooting. The stump at left is what's left of a pandanus tree. During intense eruptions, lava bombs spit out a fair distance...

...so you need to be careful. It's easier at night because you can see the ejecta and dodge it.

It's uncommon for Yasur to be this active (3 vents operating, one behind the other). I lost a tripod taking this as the everpresent earth tremors can shake things up. This image was was on the cover of Australian Photography January 2006, in which I wrote the article 'Shooting at the Gates of Hell'

Prehistoric frozen mud bubbles, Lake Siwi and Yasur. Click to enlarge for greater detail.