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Report on Fuego (Guatemala) — 23 January-29 January 2008


Fuego

Smithsonian Institution / US Geological Survey
Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 23 January-29 January 2008
Managing Editor: Sally Sennert.

Please cite this report as:

Global Volcanism Program, 2008. Report on Fuego (Guatemala) (Sennert, S, ed.). Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 23 January-29 January 2008. Smithsonian Institution and US Geological Survey.

Weekly Report (23 January-29 January 2008)

Fuego

Guatemala

14.473°N, 90.88°W; summit elev. 3763 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


INSIVUMEH reported on 24 January that explosions from Fuego produced ash plumes that rose to altitudes of 4.2-4.5 km (13,800-14,800 ft) a.s.l. ands drifted S, SW, and W. Some explosions produced shock waves that were detected 3 km away. At night, small avalanches of blocks traveled W towards the Taniluyá ravine. Based on reports from INSIVUMEH, CONRED reported on 28 January that the Alert Level was lowered to Green.

Based on observations of satellite imagery, the Washington VAAC reported that a narrow plume of gas and possible ash drifted SW on 30 January.

Geological Summary. Volcán Fuego, one of Central America's most active volcanoes, is also one of three large stratovolcanoes overlooking Guatemala's former capital, Antigua. The scarp of an older edifice, Meseta, lies between Fuego and Acatenango to the north. Construction of Meseta dates back to about 230,000 years and continued until the late Pleistocene or early Holocene. Collapse of Meseta may have produced the massive Escuintla debris-avalanche deposit, which extends about 50 km onto the Pacific coastal plain. Growth of the modern Fuego volcano followed, continuing the southward migration of volcanism that began at the mostly andesitic Acatenango. Eruptions at Fuego have become more mafic with time, and most historical activity has produced basaltic rocks. Frequent vigorous historical eruptions have been recorded since the onset of the Spanish era in 1524, and have produced major ashfalls, along with occasional pyroclastic flows and lava flows.

Sources: Coordinadora Nacional para la Reducción de Desastres (CONRED), Washington Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC), Instituto Nacional de Sismologia, Vulcanologia, Meteorologia, e Hidrologia (INSIVUMEH)