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Mount Scenery

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Mount Scenery

Mount Scenery is a dormant volcano in the Caribbean Netherlands. Its lava dome forms the summit of the Saba island stratovolcano. At an elevation of 870 m (2,854 ft), it is the highest point in both the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and, since the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles on 10 October 2010, the highest point in the Netherlands proper.

The Saba volcano is potentially dangerous. It is currently classified as "dormant", which means it is an active volcano that is not erupting now, but could erupt in the future. The last eruption was in or around the year 1640 and included explosions and pyroclastic flows. The most recent major eruption was at least 5,000 years ago. According to the U.S. Global Volcanism Program, Saba's volcano is the northernmost active volcano in the Caribbean.

On 2 September 2019, Mount Scenery Nature Park was elevated to the status of national park. It has a hiking trail to the summit of the volcano, which is one of Saba's biggest tourist attractions. Along the way up the mountain are the multiple climate zones of Saba, including a cloud forest at the summit.

The formation of Mount Scenery began about 500,000 years ago, when the subaerial part of Saba began forming. About 100,000 years ago, another phase of volcanic activity created the hills that surround The Bottom. It was likely during this time that Mount Scenery's lava dome summit formed. The last major eruption happened about 5,000 years ago, during the Holocene era. The volcano was plugged by a massive basalt rock, which is why there is no typical volcanic crater at Mount Scenery's summit.

Volcanic activity on Saba occurred up to the mid-17th century, just before European settlement on the island. Some of this activity may have occurred while Amerindians were living on the island, as it is believed that Amerindians inhabited the island (at least periodically) for approximately 2,500 years before Europeans arrived.

During the early years of European settlement, Mount Scenery (known locally as "The Mountain" through the mid-20th century) was an important location for farming, and through the late 19th and early 20th century, the majority of Saban families were dependent upon "farming The Mountain" or fishing. Common foodstuffs farmed included bananas, white potatoes, sweet potatoes, tannias, cabbage, pumpkins, and onions. Farmers from the village of Windwardside farmed an area of The Mountain called "Big Rendez-Vous", and farmers from the village of St. Johns farmed an area called "Little Rendez-Vous". Today, most of the farmland on Mount Scenery is gone; although ruins of old farmland are visible on some of Saba's hiking trails.

In the late 1960s, a stone stairway was built from Windwardside to the summit of Mount Scenery, consisting of 1,064 steps. The stairway was built by hand, step by step, by local Sabans. Today the stairway is known as the Mount Scenery Trail, and is a popular hiking trail.

In 2018, Mount Scenery Nature Park was established. The park covers an area of approximately 3.42 square kilometres (1.32 sq mi), which is about 26% of Saba's total area. The park supports eco-tourism, maintains the trail system, protects biodiversity, and preserves historical structures. In 2019, the park was elevated to the status of national park, and is now called Mount Scenery National Park.

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