Report on Momotombo (Nicaragua) — April 1989
Scientific Event Alert Network Bulletin, vol. 14, no. 4 (April 1989)
Managing Editor: Lindsay McClelland.
Momotombo (Nicaragua) Burning gases from fumaroles
Please cite this report as:
Global Volcanism Program, 1989. Report on Momotombo (Nicaragua) (McClelland, L., ed.). Scientific Event Alert Network Bulletin, 14:4. Smithsonian Institution. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.GVP.SEAN198904-344090
Momotombo
Nicaragua
12.423°N, 86.539°W; summit elev. 1270 m
All times are local (unless otherwise noted)
A maximum gas temperature of 880°C was measured (by a thermocouple) at fumarole ##9, inside the crater, on 15 April. Flames that extended up to 40 cm from vents were visible at night. Most were pale orange but some gases burned with a blue flame.
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: C. Oppenheimer, Open Univ.