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Report on Telica (Nicaragua) — 10 February-16 February 2016


Telica

Smithsonian Institution / US Geological Survey
Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 10 February-16 February 2016
Managing Editor: Sally Sennert.

Please cite this report as:

Global Volcanism Program, 2016. Report on Telica (Nicaragua) (Sennert, S, ed.). Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 10 February-16 February 2016. Smithsonian Institution and US Geological Survey.

Weekly Report (10 February-16 February 2016)

Telica

Nicaragua

12.606°N, 86.84°W; summit elev. 1036 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


Based on satellite data, the Washington VAAC reported that on 13 February a gas plume possibly containing ash rose from Telica to an altitude of 1.8 (6,000 ft) a.s.l. and drifted WSW. On 16 February INETER reported that high micro-seismicity was associated with gas explosions.

Geological Summary. Telica, one of Nicaragua's most active volcanoes, has erupted frequently since the beginning of the Spanish era. This volcano group consists of several interlocking cones and vents with a general NW alignment. Sixteenth-century eruptions were reported at symmetrical Santa Clara volcano at the SW end of the group. However, its eroded and breached crater has been covered by forests throughout historical time, and these eruptions may have originated from Telica, whose upper slopes in contrast are unvegetated. The steep-sided cone of Telica is truncated by a 700-m-wide double crater; the southern crater, the source of recent eruptions, is 120 m deep. El Liston, immediately E, has several nested craters. The fumaroles and boiling mudpots of Hervideros de San Jacinto, SE of Telica, form a prominent geothermal area frequented by tourists, and geothermal exploration has occurred nearby.

Sources: Instituto Nicaragüense de Estudios Territoriales (INETER), Washington Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC)