SW FQ-537 Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines

Mount Pinatubo is an active stratovolcano in the Cabusilan Mountains on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. Before the volcanic activities of 1991, its eruptive history was unknown to most people.

The volcano's eruption on 15 June 1991 produced the second largest terrestrial eruption of the 20th century after the 1912 eruption of Novarupta in the Alaska Peninsula. The eruption produced high-speed avalanches of hot ash and gas, giant mudflows, and a cloud of volcanic ash hundreds of miles across. 847 people were killed.

The 1991 caldera afterwards filled with water from monsoon rains and a crater lake, Lake Pinatubo (seen in the postcard) was formed.

This postcard came from Joanna P. (8 September 2015) Swap-bot.