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Report on Purace (Colombia) — March 1977


Purace

Natural Science Event Bulletin, vol. 2, no. 3 (March 1977)
Managing Editor: David Squires.

Purace (Colombia) Eruption drops ash 7 km away on 19 March

Please cite this report as:

Global Volcanism Program, 1977. Report on Purace (Colombia) (Squires, D., ed.). Natural Science Event Bulletin, 2:3. Smithsonian Institution. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.GVP.NSEB197703-351060



Purace

Colombia

2.32°N, 76.4°W; summit elev. 4650 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


An eruption on 19 March 1977 deposited fine gray ash as far as 7 km from the crater according to press reports. No casualties or damage were reported.

Geological Summary. PuracĂ© in Colombia consists of an andesitic stratovolcano with a 500-m-wide summit crater constructed over a dacitic shield volcano. It lies at the NW end of a volcanic massif opposite Pan de AzĂșcar stratovolcano, 6 km SE. A NW-SE-trending group of seven cones and craters, Los Coconucos, lies between the two larger edifices. Frequent explosive eruptions in the 19th and 20th centuries have modified the morphology of the summit crater. The largest eruptions occurred in 1849, 1869, and 1885.

Information Contacts: E. Ramirez, Univ. Javeriana, Bogotá.