Nuʻutele Island: A tuff cone of Ofu-Olosega volcano, American Samoa

View of south part of western side of Nuʻutele Island, off the west coast of Ofu Island in the Manuʻa Islands, American Samoa. Nuʻutele Island is an eroded tuff cone of Ofu-Olosega volcano. A tuff cone can form when magma and water interact at shallow depths, causing localized explosions. The layers exposed within the unvegetated cliff are the result of individual explosions during the eruption that created this tuff cone. The age of the eruption which formed Nuʻutele Island is thought to be Holocene (erupted within the last 12,000 years). After the eruption, ocean waves and currents eroded part of the tuff cone. USGS photo by N. Deligne.