| Jabal at-Tair | |
|---|---|
 Landsat 7 image of the island | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 244 m (801 ft) |
| Coordinates | 15°32′25″N41°50′02″E / 15.540299°N 41.833826°E /15.540299; 41.833826 |
| Naming | |
| English translation | Bird Mountain |
| Language of name | Arabic |
| Pronunciation | Arabic:[dʒæbælɑtˤːɑir] |
| Geography | |
 | |
| Location | Yemen (Red Sea island) |
| Geology | |
| Mountain type | Stratovolcano |
| Volcanic zone | Great Rift Valley |
| Last eruption | 2007 to 2008 |
Jabal al-Tair Island (orJebel Teir,Jabal al-Tayr,Tair Island,Al-Tair Island,Jazirat at-Tair) (Arabic:جزيرة جبل الطيرJazīrat Jabal aṭ-Ṭayr, 'Bird Mountain Island') is a roughly ovalvolcanic island inYemen, northwest of the constrictedBab al-Mandab passage at the mouth of theRed Sea, about halfway between mainland Yemen andEritrea. From 1996 until an eruption in 2007, Yemen maintained twowatchtowers and a smallmilitary base on the island.
After 124 years ofdormancy, the volcano that created the island erupted on 30 September 2007.
The island is roughly oval, about 4.3 kilometres (2.7 mi) long, 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) across at its widest and 11.48 km2 (4.43 sq mi) in area.[1] It lies nearly halfway betweenYemen 115 km (71 mi) to the east andEritrea about 150 km (93 mi) south west. It is about 82 km (51 mi) from the YemeniKamaran Island; theSaudi ArabianFarasan Islands lie to the north east.
The island comprises thebasalticstratovolcanoJabal al-Tair (Tair Mountain;Arabic:جبل الطيرJabal aṭ-Ṭayr, literally, "Bird Mountain") rising from seabed some 1,200 metres (3,940 ft) below the surface of the Red Sea, continuing for 244 m (801 feet) above the surface up to the summit of thecrater.[2] The volcano was wrongly considered "recently extinct" by 1982.[3]It was the northernmost knownHolocene volcano in the Red Sea, with one central vent,Jebel Duchan.[2] It lies in the volcanic and geologically active region of theRed Sea Rift, thedivergent boundary between theAfrican Plate and theArabian Plate.
In 1900 the British Admiralty described the island as having no naturalwater supply, and having a high conical peak rising above a basalt bluff some 300 feet (90 m) above a graduallittoral. The prominent profile made it an ideal landmark for Red Sea shipping, and the steep drop-off below sea level meant that it might be safely run for.[4]The island has no settled population, but some parts of the island have allowed for the seasonal presence of fishermen.[5]
In the past, the island, formerly known asSaiban,[6]was an important navigational marker for theshipping lanes that passed nearby.[5] Historically, theOttoman Empire controlled the Red Sea islands, and granted aFrench company alighthouse concession.British forces occupied the island in 1915, but sovereignty was deliberately left indeterminate. After a period of French-British operation the lighthouse concession first passed to a British company, then to Yemen.[7]
Sovereignty of the island was long disputed amongEthiopia,Eritrea, and Yemen. Under a 1962 agreement, lighthouses were maintained on the island at the cost of shippers.[3] In 1973, Yemen had notified Ethiopia of its intent to perform an aerial survey, and an ambiguous response by Ethiopia was later a point of contention; Ethiopia designated the islands in the area as having "no recognized owner".[8]The dispute, after Eritrea's 1993 independence from Ethiopia, erupted into the 1995Hanish islands crisis regarding theHanish Islands andZuqar Island.[9]A 1998-99 international case at thePermanent Court of Arbitration awarded various islands to Eritrea and Yemen respectively.[8]
Yemen maintained a military base on the island from the dispute with Eritrea in 1996 until the 2007 eruption. There are or were two watchtowers for control and observation of the large warships, cargo ships, and oil tankers that pass by.
The volcanoerupted at 7 p.m. local time on 30 September 2007, throwinglava and ash hundreds of meters into the air. Subsequently, at least one stream of lava was seen flowing down into the sea. It was reported that 29 Yemeni soldiers (around 50 according to one report) were evacuated from the island shortly before the eruption, but 8 were unaccounted for. Several bodies were recovered from the water.[10][11] It was reported that the western part of the island, where the military base was, had collapsed[vague].[12]
Yemeni authorities requested help from a nearbyNATO naval force, and the nearest ship, a United States Naval vesselUSSBainbridge, was reported to be aiding the Yemeni coastguard.[13] Other ships fromNATOStanding NRF Maritime Group 1 assisted in the rescue and recovery effort, includingHMCSToronto; theBainbridge andToronto each rescued one survivor. ThePortuguesefrigateNRPÁlvares Cabral and theDutch frigateHNLMSEvertsen were first on the scene.[14] Both survivors were rescued after over 20 hours in the water, just as the task force was preparing to conclude its search. A Canadian officer described a "spectacular backdrop of erupting lava and shooting flames" faced by search parties in small boats.[15]
Several minor earthquakes ranging from 2 to 3.6 on themoment magnitude scale were reported near the island in the two weeks before the eruption.[16][17]
Earlier documented eruptions of this volcano include several reported in the 18th and 19th centuries, the most recent (before 2007) in 1883, and possibly one in 1332.[2] A Yemeni governmentgeologist expected the volcano to "take time to calm down",[18] but shipping, including tankers carrying 3 million barrels of oil, that passed through the Red Sea daily, had not been affected.[19] In December 2007 it was reported that volcanic activity on the island had increased and fishermen were warned to avoid the area.[20]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)jebel teir.
15°32′N41°50′E / 15.54°N 41.83°E /15.54; 41.83
| Arabian Sea &Guardafui Channel |
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|---|---|---|
| Red Sea |
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