Jazirat Jebel at-Tair

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Jebel at-Tair
Satellite image of the island before the last volcanic eruption (Landsat 7)
Satellite image of the island before the last volcanic eruption ( Landsat 7 )
Waters Red Sea
Geographical location 15 ° 32 '24 "  N , 41 ° 49' 48"  E Coordinates: 15 ° 32 '24 "  N , 41 ° 49' 48"  E
Jazirat Jabal at-Tair (Yemen)
Jazirat Jebel at-Tair
length 4.4 km
width 3.3 km
surface 11.48 km²
Highest elevation Jebel Duchan
244  m
Residents uninhabited
Nighttime image of the 2007 eruption from aboard the USS Bainbridge
Nighttime image of the 2007 eruption from aboard the USS Bainbridge

Jazirat Jebel al-Tair ( Arabic جزيرة جبل الطير Jazīrat Jabal at-Tair , DMG Ǧazīrat Ǧabal aṭ-Ṭayr  'Vogelberginsel') is an island in the Red Sea near the Indian Ocean, about eleven square kilometers in size. It represents the westernmost land mass of Yemen . On the island there is an active volcano , the Jabal at-Tair  /جبل الطير / Ǧabal aṭ-Ṭayr (alternative spellings: Jabal-al-Tair , Jebel at Tair ).

The island is a good four kilometers long, over three kilometers wide, has a maximum height of 244  m above sea level and is located at the coordinates 15 ° 33 'north and 41 ° 50' east. It is located around 90 kilometers west of the mainland coast of Yemen, around 150 kilometers from its port city of al-Hudaida . It is a stratovolcano that consists of basalts and rises from a depth of 1200 meters. The island is mainly covered by more recent solidified lava flows .

On September 30, 2007, 4:00 p.m. GMT , a volcanic eruption took place on the island , which was observed by the ships of a nearby fleet of the Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 . Eyewitnesses reported that the whole island was glowing. The island was at that time a military garrison of the Yemeni army occupied, otherwise uninhabited. The government of Yemen asked NATO for assistance in finding survivors. At least four Yemeni soldiers died and 49 people were rescued. There had been earthquakes on the island all month long, which peaked two days before the eruption with a quake measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale . The island has been completely covered by lava, ash and rubble since the eruption, and the western part of the island has sunk into the sea.

The last known eruption of the volcano before had occurred in 1883.

Web links

Commons : Jebel at-Tair  - collection of images, videos and audio files