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Report on Momotombo (Nicaragua) — 23 March-29 March 2016


Momotombo

Smithsonian Institution / US Geological Survey
Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 23 March-29 March 2016
Managing Editor: Sally Sennert.

Please cite this report as:

Global Volcanism Program, 2016. Report on Momotombo (Nicaragua) (Sennert, S, ed.). Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 23 March-29 March 2016. Smithsonian Institution and US Geological Survey.

Weekly Report (23 March-29 March 2016)

Momotombo

Nicaragua

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

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


On 28 March SINAPRED reported that 38 explosions were detected at Momotombo over a period of 24 hours, which ejected gas-and-ash plumes and incandescent tephra. The strongest event occurred at 1140 on 27 March and generated a plume that rose 1 km.

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.

Source: Sistema Nacional para la Prevención, Mitigación y Atención de Desastres (SINAPRED)