Mount Pinatubo

The crater lake of the 1991 eruption seen in 2008

Mount Pinatubo is a stratovolcano on Luzon in the Philippines. It is near the Tri-Cabusilan Mountain range, separating Luzon's west coast from the central plains.

Before 1991, the volcano was inconspicuous and heavily eroded. It was covered with dense forest, and several thousand indigenous people lived there. The volcano erupted in June 1991, destroying thousands of buildings and houses and killing over 800 people. It was the second largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century after the 1912 eruption of Novarupta and had a Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) of 6. Mount Pinatubo's eruption effects were felt worldwide. There is now a caldera where before was the central cone.

It erupted in June 15, 1991 and is located on the island of Luzon in the Phillipines. Many lahars and pyroclastic flows damaged much of the infrastructure of the country. They also killed upwards of 800 people. Officials at the US marine base were able to evacuate many people, but property damage was costly, totaling billions of Phillipine pesos.