Matthew and Hunter Islands - Matthew Island

Matthew Island

Matthew Island (île Matthew in French) is 0.7 km² in area, with a 177 metre high stratovolcano located at 22°21′S 171°21′E / 22.35°S 171.35°E / -22.35; 171.35. The volcanic island is composed of two andesitic-to-dactic volcanic cones, East Matthew and West Matthew, separated by a rocky 200-metre-wide isthmus. The island was discovered by Captain Thomas Gilbert of the Royal Navy on board the Charlotte on 27 May 1788, who named it after the owner of his ship. At the time of the discovery, only East Matthew existed and it was described as having only one peak prior to the Second World War.

East Matthew is the older part of the island, formed from basalt with a half-destroyed, 142 m high composite volcanic cone that is thought to be composed of three lava flows. There is still some volcanic activity on the island with sulphuric fumaroles rising from craters in the south-east. West Matthew formed in the late 1940s and may have had eruptions as recent as 1976. It is a roughly circular, 177 m high cone with a serrated peak and is composed almost entirely of lava flows and slag. It contains a crater that is breached to the northwest. A lava flow from West Matthew makes up the northwest coast of the island.