Mount Gharat

Mount Gharat or Mount Garet (797 m), a somma volcano, is the highest peak on the volcanic island of Gaua of the Banks Islands in northern Vanuatu.

Mount Gharat (Mount Garet)
Mount Gharat and Lake Letas
Highest point
Elevation797 m (2,615 ft)[1]
Prominence797 m (2,615 ft)
Coordinates14°16′S 167°30′E[1]
Geography
Mt Garet, in the middle of Gaua island
LocationGaua, Banks Islands, Vanuatu
Geology
Mountain typeSomma-Stratovolcano
Last eruption2011[1]

Geography

The peak is located at the centre of the island, is volcanically active and is surrounded by Lake Letas on all sides except the southwest.

Mount Gharat on Gaua island
  • Eruption of Mt Garet in Sept 2010.
    Eruption of Mt Garet in Sept 2010.
  • Eruption of Mt Garet in Sept 2010
    2013 satellite picture of Mt Garet during eruption

Name

The volcano has slightly different names, depending on which of the local languages is being considered. It is known as Garet [ɣaˈrɛt] in Nume, Grāt [ɣraːt] in Dorig, Gerät [ɣɛˈrɛ​͡at] in Koro, Gäräs [ɣæˈræs] in Lakon. The spelling Gharat found sometimes on maps is an attempt at transcribing Mota or Olrat Garat [ɣarat].

All these names come from a Proto-Torres-Banks form *ɣarati, whose literal meaning is “itching, burning” ‒ perhaps in relation to the volcano's toxic fumes.

References
  1. "Gaua". Global Volcanism Program. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2020-08-29.
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