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Les éruptions
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The eruptive phenomena decreased progressively and disappeared in the first semester of 1852. However the conclusions of the scientific committee reveal a complete lack of understanding of the real nature of mount Pelée. They partly explain the reactions which led to the drama in 1902.
We can ascertain :
That the eruption of August 5th was a local event limited to the ravine of Claire river, and whose effects can be observed in an area of 800 to 900 yards maximum.
(…) That the ashes or muds are the only matters rejected by the volcano. That we didn't find any lava, or the smallest rock related to this eruption. That the geological constitution of mount Pelée, made quickly in a short time and with limited knowledge, didn't reveal any lava flow. (…) Lava usually exist around volcanoes which vomit fire.
(…)
That the geological constitution of mount Pelée suggests that the previous eruptions (at least two craters of the past eruptions are known, the Etang sec and the present lake) were probably of the same nature as the one on August 5th. Evidence shows that this volcano should be classified among the mud volcanoes and not among the fire volcanoes.
(…)
That mount Pelée extensively examined did not present any crack, landslide, or movement of water, therefore the effects of the August 5th eruption were very limited.
That the city of St. Pierre and the village of Prêcheur, located respectively more than 6 and 4 miles from the mountain, do not seem to fear eruptions even more important that the present one. Nothing on the ground where they are built shows major changes. We should consider something far more different and important than what occurred, to reach the estate Ruffin and the estate Eynard, the closest estates from the active vents.
That the matters ejected by the vents did not reach more than one meter in thickness. That the configuration of the area and the erosion of the ravine of Blanche river created a natural path for the mud to flow to the sea. Therefore the farmers who fled during the first panic caused by the eruption, have come back to their estates and can work as usual, not paying attention to the detonations which happen from time to time, or to the persisting smell of hydrogen sulfide.
(…)
To sum up, mount Pelée volcano appears to be no more than another curiosity to be added to the natural history of our Martinique. A curiosity that visitors would like to see, and through the industry of the local inhabitants could be a source of health and wealth. On quiet weather, ships coming from France and spotting from far the undulating long plume of white smoke rising straight in the sky, must consider it as a picturesque decoration for the island and a complement to the majesty of our old mount Pelée.
(*Personal translation from French)
This understanding of the volcano in 1852 will have dramatic consequences 50 years later, for these conclusions will comfort the inhabitants of St. Pierre and the Northern region into a false feeling of safety. |
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A scientific committee was formed and its members organized an exploration of the eruptive center.
(…)
As we climbed the mountain, the layer of mud got thicker, the feet sank into it and it was tough to pull them out. Unluckily for those with bad shoes! Meanwhile, the ridge we were walking on got narrower, and at some point , on our right, the East side, was the ravine of the Blanche river ; on our left, the West side, was the ravine of Claire river where the smoke was coming from. We were walking on the edge of the ravine along a 50-60 yards ridge. At our feet, was now, the ravine or valley of Claire river.
We were able then to fully understand the effects of the August 5th eruption. The greenery had completely been removed from the place where it was once the everlasting occupant. Trees, leaves, flowers, everything was wrapped as in a grayish shroud. It was the emptiness of winter with its bare trees, dirtied with a black snow. (…)
A gloomy silence, a sky darkened by vapors, an atmosphere filled with a strong smell of hydrogen sulfide, made the whole scene comparable to the Tartar. The slope of the ravine is very steep and runs from East to West, from the top of the peak of mount Pelée, known as Morne Lacroix. But the ground is uneven, it has numerous cliffs ; here and there, in the dominant gray cover, we could see several cracks where the soil was bare. The cracks are minor landslides probably caused by the vapors exhaled by the volcano or made by its tremors.
(…) Up in the valley, two sprays of a whitish smoke reveal two vents which throw mud on the valley and in the surrounding areas, covering them. (…) A barometric height measured there showed an elevation of 3168 ft. from sea level.
(…) We were then able to assess that the radius of the devastation was more than 800 to 900 yards.
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Chronology of the eruption |
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From March 1929, several witnesses reported an abnormal fumarollic activity at the summit of the volcano.
On August 16th, at about 9:45 pm, a sudden outburst threw a vapor column, and light ash falls over the settlements on the leeward side of mount Pelée. Some landslides were reported thereafter on the summit.
In the following weeks, the intensity of the observed phenomena decreased progressively.
On September 16th, 1929, at 10:00 pm, a violent eruption caused spontaneous evacuations of all the villages around the volcanoes. The population was allowed to return to their homes at the beginning of October, after an assessment made by a visiting geologist.
On October 14th, at 4:00 am, a new eruption, far more violent than the previous ones, threw dense ashfalls on Prêcheur.
The eruption of October 18th started at 1:00 am and covered the whole western side of the volcano with ashes.
On October 22nd, at 5:00 am a new eruption delivered a  pyroclastic flow (nuee ardente) which took 10 minutes to reach the sea along the Blanche river valley.  Mt. Pelee erupting, 1930
(ph. Perret / Carnegie Institution of Washington) The frequency of the eruptions then increased although they were less violent. The avalanches were caused by the collapses of a second dome growing in the caldeira. Similar avalanches occurred until December 1932 and all of them were travelling along the valley of the Blanche river.
People from St Pierre constructing a monitoring field station
close to the crater, November 1930
(ph. Perret / Carnegie Institution of Washington) |
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Shortly after the eruption, the area of St. Pierre was completely abandonned. But slowly families were drawn to the ruins by the cheap price of the land, and the desire to rebuild the city. |
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There are some appealing stories about the survivors of the May 8th disaster... 
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