Bouganville Island is geographically part of the Solomon Islands
chain to the east of Papua New Guinea. (Politically, the island
is part of Papua New Guinea.) Bouganville is typical of many
Pacific Rim islands in that volcanism has played a large part in
both its geological and recorded history. The island hosts three
large volcanoes along its northwest-southeast trending axis:
Mount Balbi, Mount Bagana, and the Mount Takuan volcanic
complex. Mount Bagana, located near image center in this
astronaut photograph, is the only historically active volcano on
the island. Within Bouganville’s lush landscape, light green
vegetation and brown lava flows mark the 1,750-meter-high lava
cone of Mount Bagana. The lighter color of vegetation could
result from volcanic activity, higher altitude, or both. The
eruptive style of the volcano is typically non-explosive,
producing thick lobes of lava that run down the flanks and
maintain a dome in the summit crater. Occasional pyroclastic
flows of rock fragments and volcanic ash