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Report on Nevado del Ruiz (Colombia) — 17 August-23 August 2016


Nevado del Ruiz

Smithsonian Institution / US Geological Survey
Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 17 August-23 August 2016
Managing Editor: Sally Sennert.

Please cite this report as:

Global Volcanism Program, 2016. Report on Nevado del Ruiz (Colombia) (Sennert, S, ed.). Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 17 August-23 August 2016. Smithsonian Institution and US Geological Survey.

Weekly Report (17 August-23 August 2016)

Nevado del Ruiz

Colombia

4.892°N, 75.324°W; summit elev. 5279 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


Based on information from the Servicio Geológico Colombiano’s (SGC) Observatorio Vulcanológico y Sismológico de Manizales, the Washington VAAC reported that on 19 August an ash plume from Nevado del Ruiz rose to an altitude of 6.9 km (22,000 ft) a.s.l. and drifted W and SW. The Alert Level remained at III (Yellow; "changes in the behavior of volcanic activity").

Geological Summary. Nevado del Ruiz is a broad, glacier-covered volcano in central Colombia that covers more than 200 km2. Three major edifices, composed of andesitic and dacitic lavas and andesitic pyroclastics, have been constructed since the beginning of the Pleistocene. The modern cone consists of a broad cluster of lava domes built within the caldera of an older edifice. The 1-km-wide, 240-m-deep Arenas crater occupies the summit. The prominent La Olleta pyroclastic cone located on the SW flank may also have been active in historical time. Steep headwalls of massive landslides cut the flanks. Melting of its summit icecap during historical eruptions, which date back to the 16th century, has resulted in devastating lahars, including one in 1985 that was South America's deadliest eruption.

Sources: Washington Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC), Servicio Geológico Colombiano (SGC)