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La Soufrière in 3D: real relief (Copernicus DEM) and satellite image (Sentinel-2)

Volcano·Saint Vincent and the GrenadinesSaint Vincent and the Grenadines

La Soufrière

1,220m

Antilles

Summit weather

3D view drawn from Copernicus WorldDEM-30 (© DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA) and Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX IT Services GmbH, CC BY 4.0

Elevation
1,220m
Prominence
1,234m
Relief
1,220mabove the lowest point within 5 km
Steepest slope
61°within 1 km of the summit
Snow at the summit
NoneSee month by month ↓
Summit
13.3336°N, 61.1822°W

Volcano on the island of Saint Vincent in the Caribbean

La Soufrière is a volcano in the Antilles (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines). Its summit stands 1,220 m above sea level. It is the highest point of VC. Its prominence — how far it rises above the highest saddle linking it to a taller summit — is 1,234 m.

From the lowest point within 5 km (0 m), it rises 1,220 m. The steepest side is the south-west face: 24° on average over the first kilometre. In places the ground near the top reaches 61° — terrain for climbers, not walkers.

The nearest town is Chateaubelair, 8 km away at 9 m: 1,211 m below the summit.

Read more on Wikipedia

Scores

La Soufrière for skiers and climbers

Two scores out of 10, built only from open data — every part is shown. They describe what the mountain offers, not how safe it is.

Hiking & mountaineering

4.3/10

Difficulty to the top

Hike

Most path sections around the top are T2 on the SAC hiking scale.

Indicative only — never a safety assessment. Conditions change: ask local guides and check the forecast.

  • 0.2/2.50 waymarked routes and 4 path sections nearby
  • 0.0/1.50 huts and shelters
  • 1.2/21,211 m of ascent from the valley
  • 1.3/1.51,234 m of prominence
  • 1.5/1.512 months with summit afternoons above −5 °C
  • 0.0/1via ferratas, climbing and glaciers

Ski score

—

No ski runs within 12 km in OpenStreetMap.

How these scores are made

Ski (where OpenStreetMap has skiing within 12 km): up to 4 points for the length of downhill runs (300 km or more = 4), 1.5 for the number of lifts (40+), 1.5 for the vertical between lift stations (1,500 m) and 3 for the snow season — a month counts when the estimated mean temperature at the height of the ski area is −1 °C or lower and snow falls or lies there (NASA POWER, 2001–2020). Hiking & mountaineering: up to 2.5 for waymarked routes and paths, 1.5 for huts, 2 for the ascent from the valley (2,000 m), 1.5 for prominence (3,000 m), 1.5 for the season (months with summit afternoons above −5 °C) and 1 for via ferratas, climbing and glaciers. OpenStreetMap is built by volunteers: where few things are mapped, a score can be lower than reality.

Plan your visit

Stay, climb and get there

Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.

Snow

When there is snow on La Soufrière

In a normal year there is no snow on this mountain, not even at the summit.

Estimate for a normal year: average temperature and precipitation from NASA POWER, carried to each height, in a simple model of snow building up and melting. In a given year snow can come earlier or stay longer. It does not replace the local snow and avalanche bulletin.

Summit weather

La Soufrière, month by month

Not a forecast: long-term averages (1991–2020), carried up to the summit. The orange line is where an average afternoon reaches 0 °C; above the dashed blue line it freezes even at dawn.

On an average September afternoon the summit reaches about 23 °C; on February nights it falls to about 20 °C. Afternoons at the top are above freezing in every month of the average year. In September the 0 °C line climbs to about 5,810 m, above the summit: the top thaws on an average afternoon. Across the region, February is the driest month (38 mm) and October the wettest (159 mm).

0 m2,000 m4,000 m6,000 mSUMMIT · 1,220 mCHATEAUBELAIR · 9 mJanuary: 5,390 mFebruary: 5,350 mMarch: 5,390 mApril: 5,490 mMay: 5,610 mJune: 5,650 mJuly: 5,670 mAugust: 5,750 mSeptember: 5,810 mOctober: 5,770 mNovember: 5,670 mDecember: 5,530 mJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
0 °C on an average afternoon 0 °C at dawn the summit
MonthSummit high °CSummit low °CChateaubelair high °C0 °C line (m)Rain & snow (mm)Wet daysSun h/day
January2120275,39059158.3
February2120275,35038108.8
March2120275,39039119.0
April2120275,49071128.9
May2221285,61074158.7
June2221285,650114197.9
July2222285,670122228.3
August2322295,750144238.5
September2322295,810144208.3
October2322295,770159237.6
November2222285,670139227.7
December2221285,53074168.1

Estimate: the NASA POWER climate of a ~55 km cell (average height 13 m), adjusted to the summit by −6.5 °C per 1,000 m. Rain, wet days and sunshine are those of the region. Mountain weather changes fast — always check a local forecast. ★ = mildest months at the top.

Relief

The mountain in profile

Two cuts through the summit, 16 km long, from the 30 m Copernicus elevation model. Heights drawn 2× taller than lengths, so the shape can be seen.

West – east
1,220 m0 m0 km2 km4 km6 km8 km10 km12 km14 km16 kmWE
South – north
1,220 m0 m0 km2 km4 km6 km8 km10 km12 km14 km16 kmSN
Steepness by direction
30°N: 10°NNE: 11°NEE: 13°ESE: 22°SES: 20°SSW: 24°SWW: 23°WNW: 23°NW

Average slope of the first kilometre from the summit. The orange petal is the steepest side.

Around the mountain

Huts, lifts and trails around La Soufrière

Counted around the summit in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit. The satellite plate shows 14 × 14 km.

La Soufrière seen from above (Sentinel-2) N 5 km

Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 14 × 14 km, north up. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.

  • —mountain huts and shelters
  • —cable cars, gondolas, chairlifts and rack railways
  • —ski areas
  • —waymarked hiking routes
  • —via ferratas
  • —climbing crags and routes
  • —named glaciers
  • 4viewpoints

    Volcano Oservatory

  • —campsites
  • 1hotels, B&Bs and chalets

    Susan's Airbnb

  • 3restaurants and cafés

How hard are the paths?

4 path sections within 5 km, by SAC hiking scale (T1 easy walk … T6 difficult alpine).

T1T2T4
  • T1 hiking
  • T2 mountain hiking
  • T4 alpine hiking

Towns at the foot

  • Chateaubelair8 km · 9 m
  • Petit Bordel8 km · 43 m
  • Georgetown9 km · 13 m
  • Byera Village11 km · 9 m
  • Friendly Village13 km · 48 m
  • Greiggs14 km · 202 m
  • Bottle and Glass14 km · 76 m
  • Barrouallie14 km · 19 m

OpenStreetMap is built by volunteers: a low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet. Places © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).

Photos

Seen by climbers and visitors

Recent years

How each month compared at the summit

Afternoon high at the summit (estimate). The first row is the reference, the 1991–2020 average in °C; the years show only the difference.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
1991–2020 average212121212222222323232222
2020+0.4+0.5+0.2+0.2+0.2+0.4+0.5+0.5+0.4+0.1−0.1±0.0
2021+0.5+0.3−0.2±0.0−0.1−0.1+0.1+0.2+0.3+0.4+0.1+0.2
2022±0.0+0.1±0.0−0.1−0.2±0.0+0.1+0.2+0.3±0.0+0.1−0.2
2023−0.1−0.2+0.1±0.0+0.4+0.9+0.9+1.1+1.2+1.1+0.8+0.7
2024+1.1+1.3+1.3+1.5+1.4+1.3+1.2+1.0+1.1+1.5+1.2+0.9
2025+1.0+0.7+0.7+0.3+0.5+0.2+0.5+0.8+0.7+0.8+0.4+0.1

+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual

About these numbers

Names, elevation, prominenceWikidata (Q26544) · CC0
Relief, 3D view, profilesCopernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
ClimateNASA POWER, 1991–2020 · CC BY 4.0
Around the mountain© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
ImagesEOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons

Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.

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