Geological Action on Negros Island

One of the aspects which makes living on Negros Island (Philippines, of course) so interesting is that the island is geologically young and active. From dive sites tens of meters below the surface of the ocean to the towering volcanic mountains of the island, there is a lot of active geology to be admired in Negros. This post is the first one of what will be a mini-series of articles about the geology of Negros.

I recently took the family to Valencia, a municipality inlands, and up the mountain from Dumaguete, the provincial capital. Right along the road, we could admire volcanic steam vents … and I fell into one … almost… see more here:

 

A dive site in the famous diving destination Apo Island, which is a small island just off the south of mainland Negros, where volcanic gas bubbles out of the sand at a depth of ~ 15 meters. My friend, University of the Philippine marine geologist Jeffrey Munar explains what’s going on:

 

And also in Dauin, the diving destination known for its muck diving, one dive site, aptly named “Mainit” (“hot” in Visayan) features curious geothermal activity. The sand there is hot – not painfully hot, but certainly 10C above the water temperature. Parts of teh dive site are covered in sulfur, as if decorated with powder sugar. And there are fishes which do this hellish site justice:

I hope you enjoyed these videos,

Best,

Klaus