Mud volcano activity in Trinidad – 1995 – 2012
Curtis Archie

Mud volcanoes and their activity have been described in the literature from as far back as 1816 by a Dr. Ferguson and by Wall and Sawkins (1861). Higgins and Saunders (1974) have produced the most comprehensive list and descriptions of 26 areas of modern activity and 3 ‘fossil’ events. Since 1995 there have been five extrusions of mud, the first 1995 at Devil’s Woodyard, 1997 at Piparo (the only eruption filmed), 2001 and 2002 offshore Chatham, and in 2007 to the north of Point Radix.
Devil’s Woodyard and Piparo have been monitored by the author since their eruptions , the locations of the vents, where a combination of mud – gas – muddy water is expelled, were plotted using GPS between 2003 and 2012 . The implications of the changes in number and distribution of these vents will be discussed.
Other recent areas of activity will be shown and their possible relationship to the major tectonic features examined