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Taal Volcano in Batangas, Philippines

Taal Volcano is the second most active volcano in the Philippines, with 33 recorded historical eruptions, all of which were concentrated on Volcano Island, near the middle of Taal Lake. The volcano has had several violent eruptions in the past, causing loss of life on the island and the populated areas surrounding the lake, with the death toll estimated at about 6,000. Because of its proximity to populated areas and its eruptive history, the volcano was designated a Decade Volcano, worthy of close study to prevent future natural disasters. All volcanoes of the Philippines are part of the Pacific Ring of Fire.

The Taal caldera is largely filled by Lake Taal, whose 267 sq km surface lies only 3 m above sea level. The maximum depth of the lake is 160 m, and contains several eruptive centers submerged beneath the lake. All historic eruptions took place from the 5-km-wide volcanic island in the northern-central part of the lake. The island is formed by overlapping stratovolcanoes, cinder cones and tuff rings (maars). Historic eruptions have seen the constant change and growth of the island. Taal caused one of the worst volcano disasters in history: its eruption in 1911 killed 1334 people and caused ash fall as far as Manila city. Due to its devastating potential, Taal was declared one of the "Decade Volcanoes" in the Decade Volcanoes program of the 1990s in order to incentive study and monitoring of the volcano. Taal is today one of the most closely monitored volcanoes in the region. An increase in seismic activity under Taal was recorded in November 2006, followed by an increase in hot water springs in the crater in April 2007.

It has a main crater lake which is blue-green in color and is 1.9 kilometers in diameter. The volcano has 47 craters in total, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology. The rest of the volcano is below sea level. Taal Volcano features a caldera that also has water in it. The "lake within a lake" view made the area a tourist attraction.

Taal is considered the second most active volcano in terms of frequent eruptions, with 33 historical explosions thus far, Phivolcs said.

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