Pyroclastic surges completely devastated vegetation on the flanks of El Chichón out to distances up to 8 km from the crater. Hot pyroclastic flow and surge deposits are seen in this early April 1982 photo at Francisco León, 5 km SSW of the crater. Three major pyroclastic flows occurred on 3 and 4 April, devasting an area of 153 km²; all three surges reached Francisco León. Pyroclastic surges traveled over ridges as high as 300 m.

Photo by Servando De la Cruz-Reyna, 1982 (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México).

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

Keywords: deposit | ash | environmental impact | pyroclastic flow | tephra | vegetation | pyroclastic density current (PDC)

El Chichón