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Report on Momotombo (Nicaragua) — November 1985


Momotombo

Scientific Event Alert Network Bulletin, vol. 10, no. 11 (November 1985)
Managing Editor: Lindsay McClelland.

Momotombo (Nicaragua) Fumarole temperatures during 1985

Please cite this report as:

Global Volcanism Program, 1985. Report on Momotombo (Nicaragua) (McClelland, L., ed.). Scientific Event Alert Network Bulletin, 10:11. Smithsonian Institution. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.GVP.SEAN198511-344090



Momotombo

Nicaragua

12.423°N, 86.539°W; summit elev. 1270 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


On 30 May Momotombo was monitored with three sensitive portable seismographs. Three microearthquakes were recorded, one of which was detected by all three instruments, and was located at 12.455°N, 86.547°W at 1.27 km depth. Fumarole temperatures remained high (table 2), but were slightly lower than the 895°C measured in August 1984.

Table 2. Fumarole temperatures at Momotombo, January-October 1985. Courtesy of INETER.

Month Temperature (°C)
January 870
February 870
March 875
April 879
May 882
June 875
July 875
August 875
September 874
October 874

Further Reference. Menyailov, I.A., Nikitina, L.P., Shapar, V.N., and Pilipenko, V.P., 1986, Temperature increase and chemical change of fumarolic gases at Momotombo volcano, Nicaragua, in 1982-1985: Are these indicators of a possible eruption?: JGR, v. 91, no. B12, p. 12199-12214.

Geological Summary. Momotombo is a young stratovolcano that rises prominently above the NW shore of Lake Managua, forming one of Nicaragua's most familiar landmarks. Momotombo began growing about 4500 years ago at the SE end of the Marrabios Range and consists of a somma from an older edifice that is surmounted by a symmetrical younger cone with a 150 x 250 m wide summit crater. Young lava flows extend down the NW flank into the 4-km-wide Monte Galán caldera. The youthful cone of Momotombito forms an island offshore in Lake Managua. Momotombo has a long record of Strombolian eruptions, punctuated by occasional stronger explosive activity. The latest eruption, in 1905, produced a lava flow that traveled from the summit to the lower NE base. A small black plume was seen above the crater after a 10 April 1996 earthquake, but later observations noted no significant changes in the crater. A major geothermal field is located on the south flank.

Information Contacts: D. Fajardo B., INETER.