Massive airfall pumice deposits blanket the countryside around Siete Orejas volcano. The coarse white rhyodacitic pumice creates the impression of snowfall over broad areas, and on the volcano itself the mantle is so thick that underlying lavas are rarely exposed. Eruption of the airfall pumice was followed by the production of massive pumiceous pyroclastic flows that filled the valley of Quetzaltenango to depths up to about 75 m.

Photo by Bill Rose, 1981 (Michigan Technological University).

This image is made available under the Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0 license terms.

Siete Orejas