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Report on Telica (Nicaragua) — June 1989


Telica

Scientific Event Alert Network Bulletin, vol. 14, no. 6 (June 1989)
Managing Editor: Lindsay McClelland.

Telica (Nicaragua) Fumaroles emit white plumes

Please cite this report as:

Global Volcanism Program, 1989. Report on Telica (Nicaragua) (McClelland, L., ed.). Scientific Event Alert Network Bulletin, 14:6. Smithsonian Institution. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.GVP.SEAN198906-344040



Telica

Nicaragua

12.606°N, 86.84°W; summit elev. 1036 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


A visit to the volcano on 5 June revealed two small brown crater lakes, 10 m across (figure 2). A number of large collapses had occurred, covering much of the crater floor with blocks. Fumarolic activity was vigorous (particularly from a vent on the SE side) and produced a continuous plume over the crater. No eruptive activity has been reported since December 1987.

Figure (see Caption) Figure 2. Sketch of the active crater of Telica, 5 June 1989. Courtesy of B. van Wyk de Vries and O. Castellón.

Geological Summary. Telica, one of Nicaragua's most active volcanoes, has erupted frequently since the beginning of the Spanish era. This volcano group consists of several interlocking cones and vents with a general NW alignment. Sixteenth-century eruptions were reported at symmetrical Santa Clara volcano at the SW end of the group. However, its eroded and breached crater has been covered by forests throughout historical time, and these eruptions may have originated from Telica, whose upper slopes in contrast are unvegetated. The steep-sided cone of Telica is truncated by a 700-m-wide double crater; the southern crater, the source of recent eruptions, is 120 m deep. El Liston, immediately E, has several nested craters. The fumaroles and boiling mudpots of Hervideros de San Jacinto, SE of Telica, form a prominent geothermal area frequented by tourists, and geothermal exploration has occurred nearby.

Information Contacts: B. van Wyk de Vries and O. Castellón, INETER, Apartado 1761, Managua, Nicaragua.