Logo link to homepage

Report on Fuego (Guatemala) — October 1975


Fuego

Natural Science Event Bulletin, vol. 1, no. 1 (October 1975)
Managing Editor: David Squires.

Fuego (Guatemala) Occasional ash emissions in September and October

Please cite this report as:

Global Volcanism Program, 1975. Report on Fuego (Guatemala) (Squires, D., ed.). Natural Science Event Bulletin, 1:1. Smithsonian Institution. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.GVP.NSEB197510-342090



Fuego

Guatemala

14.473°N, 90.88°W; summit elev. 3763 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


Unusual activity on Fuego, aside from minor vapor emissions, started the night of 19 September. Since that time there have been occasional emissions of dark gray to black ash clouds. The ash was either dissipated as dust in the atmosphere or fell on the upper slopes of the cone. A trace fell on some populated areas but was insufficient for collection. A large ash cloud was observed on 2 October at 0830, and on 11-12 October ash, brownish-gray in color, fell on Antigua.

Further Reference. Yuan, A.T.E., McNutt, S.R., and Harlow, D.H., 1984, Seismicity and Eruptive Activity at Fuego Volcano, Guatemala: February 1975-Januaryuary 1977; JVGR, v. 21, p. 277-298.

Geological Summary. Volcán Fuego, one of Central America's most active volcanoes, is also one of three large stratovolcanoes overlooking Guatemala's former capital, Antigua. The scarp of an older edifice, Meseta, lies between Fuego and Acatenango to the north. Construction of Meseta dates back to about 230,000 years and continued until the late Pleistocene or early Holocene. Collapse of Meseta may have produced the massive Escuintla debris-avalanche deposit, which extends about 50 km onto the Pacific coastal plain. Growth of the modern Fuego volcano followed, continuing the southward migration of volcanism that began at the mostly andesitic Acatenango. Eruptions at Fuego have become more mafic with time, and most historical activity has produced basaltic rocks. Frequent vigorous historical eruptions have been recorded since the onset of the Spanish era in 1524, and have produced major ashfalls, along with occasional pyroclastic flows and lava flows.

Information Contacts: D. Willever, Antigua; S. Bonis, IGN.