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Report on Masaya (Nicaragua) — 6 April-12 April 2016


Masaya

Smithsonian Institution / US Geological Survey
Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 6 April-12 April 2016
Managing Editor: Sally Sennert.

Please cite this report as:

Global Volcanism Program, 2016. Report on Masaya (Nicaragua) (Sennert, S, ed.). Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 6 April-12 April 2016. Smithsonian Institution and US Geological Survey.

Weekly Report (6 April-12 April 2016)

Masaya

Nicaragua

11.9844°N, 86.1688°W; summit elev. 594 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


INETER reported that during 6-12 April the lava lake on the floor of Masaya's Santiago crater remained visible. RSAM values were at high levels and gas emissions were low.

Geological Summary. Masaya is one of Nicaragua's most unusual and most active volcanoes. It lies within the massive Pleistocene Las Sierras caldera and is itself a broad, 6 x 11 km basaltic caldera with steep-sided walls up to 300 m high. The caldera is filled on its NW end by more than a dozen vents that erupted along a circular, 4-km-diameter fracture system. The Nindirí and Masaya cones, the source of historical eruptions, were constructed at the southern end of the fracture system and contain multiple summit craters, including the currently active Santiago crater. A major basaltic Plinian tephra erupted from Masaya about 6,500 years ago. Historical lava flows cover much of the caldera floor and there is a lake at the far eastern end. A lava flow from the 1670 eruption overtopped the north caldera rim. Masaya has been frequently active since the time of the Spanish Conquistadors, when an active lava lake prompted attempts to extract the volcano's molten "gold." Periods of long-term vigorous gas emission at roughly quarter-century intervals have caused health hazards and crop damage.

Source: Instituto Nicaragüense de Estudios Territoriales (INETER)