Loloru, Shield volcano in Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea.

Loloru is a pyroclastic shield volcano in southern Bougainville, Papua New Guinea. Its summit holds two nested calderas with an andesitic lava dome, and within the caldera lies Lake Loloru, a crescent-shaped crater lake of 0.9 km2. The photograph shows a broad, gently sloped landform covered in trees rising from the water, its top edge lost in haze.

Loloru is a pyroclastic shield volcano whose summit holds two nested calderas with an andesitic lava dome. Its most recent eruption is thought to have occurred around 1050 BC, according to the Spanish-language source. The crescent-shaped Lake Loloru, covering 0.9 km2, lies within the caldera.

South Bougainvillians hold Lake Loloru sacred: they believe the souls of their dead go to the lake after death. The crescent-shaped crater lake, 0.9 km2 in area, sits inside the summit caldera of the Loloru volcano.

The caldera rim and Lake Loloru lie in the wet tropical highlands of southern Bougainville, where cloud and haze often hide the top of the massif. Access is by foot through forest from the surrounding villages, and the crater lake is sacred to South Bougainvillian communities, so visits should be arranged with local landowners and guides. No marked trail or facility exists at the summit.

Lake Loloru fills a caldera of the Loloru volcano in southern Bougainville and covers 0.9 km2. South Bougainvillians hold it sacred, believing the souls of their dead go there after death.