PELEE, MOUNT

French Montagne Pele, active volcanic mountain on the Caribbean island of Martinique, French West Indies. Situated 15 miles (24 km) northwest of Fort-de-France, it is 4,583 feet (1,397 m) high. The Pele (French: Bald) massif consists of volcanic ash and lavas. A gently sloping cone, it is scored with ravines and supports luxuriant forests. Minor eruptions occurred in 1792 and 1851, but on May 8, 1902, it violently destroyed the port of Saint-Pierre, killing approximately 30,000 people, 15 percent of the island's population. So dramatic was this event that the name of the mountain has been adopted as typifying that particular kind of eruption, the pelean-type eruption of ash, gas, and nue ardente (fiery cloud). A minor eruption occurred in 1929.