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Report on Fuego (Guatemala) — 1 August-7 August 2007


Fuego

Smithsonian Institution / US Geological Survey
Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 1 August-7 August 2007
Managing Editor: Sally Sennert.

Please cite this report as:

Global Volcanism Program, 2007. Report on Fuego (Guatemala) (Sennert, S, ed.). Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 1 August-7 August 2007. Smithsonian Institution and US Geological Survey.

Weekly Report (1 August-7 August 2007)

Fuego

Guatemala

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

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


INSIVUMEH reported that explosions from Fuego expelled incandescent material 50-75 m above the crater on 1 August. Incandescent avalanches traveled 500-700 m down the S and W flanks. Rumbling noises and shock waves were noted at nearby locations. On 2 August, a moderate eruption produced pyroclastic flows that traveled approximately 2 km SSW down the Ceniza River valley. A resultant ash plume rose to an altitude of 5.3 km (17,400 ft) a.s.l. and produced ashfall in areas to the S, SW, and W for several minutes.

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.

Source: Instituto Nacional de Sismologia, Vulcanologia, Meteorologia, e Hidrologia (INSIVUMEH)