| Mount Liamuiga | |
|---|---|
 ISS view of Mount Liamuiga in 2010 | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 1,156 m (3,793 ft)[1] |
| Prominence | 1,156 m (3,793 ft) |
| Listing | |
| Coordinates | 17°22′N62°48′W / 17.37°N 62.8°W /17.37; -62.8[1] |
| Geography | |
  Mount Liamuiga Location in Saint Kitts and Nevis | |
| Location | Saint Kitts |
| Geology | |
| Mountain type | Stratovolcano[1] |
| Last eruption | 160 CE ± 200 years[1] |
Mount Liamuiga is a 1,156-metre (3,792 ft)stratovolcano which forms the north-western part of the island ofSaint Kitts. The peak is the highest point on the island of Saint Kitts, in the federation ofSaint Kitts and Nevis, and in the entire BritishLeeward Islands, as well as one of the tallest peaks in the easternCaribbeanarchipelago. The peak is topped by a 1-kilometre (0.6 mi) widesummit crater, which contained a shallowcrater lake until 1959. As of 2006, the crater lake had re-formed.[3] The last verified eruptions from the volcano were about 1,800 years ago, while reports of possible eruptions in 1692 and 1843 are considered uncertain.[1]
Mount Liamuiga was formerly namedMount Misery. The renaming took place on the date of St. Kitts' independence, September 19, 1983. However, many older citizens still refer to it as Mount Misery. The nameLiamuiga is derived from theKalinago name for the entire island of St. Kitts, which means, "fertile land."
The mountainsides are covered in farmland and small villages up to a height of 460 metres (1,500 ft), after which lush tropicalrainforests drape the slopes untilcloud forest takes over at 900 m (3,000 ft). The mountain can behiked, with the trailhead starting approximately 2 miles north-west-west of the crater. The trail does not reach the highest point, but stops on the western edge of the crater.
