Report on Fuego (Guatemala) — 5 April-11 April 2017
Smithsonian Institution / US Geological Survey
Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 5 April-11 April 2017
Managing Editor: Sally Sennert.
Please cite this report as:
Global Volcanism Program, 2017. Report on Fuego (Guatemala) (Sennert, S, ed.). Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 5 April-11 April 2017. Smithsonian Institution and US Geological Survey.
Fuego
Guatemala
14.473°N, 90.88°W; summit elev. 3763 m
All times are local (unless otherwise noted)
INSIVUMEH reported that during 6-11 April explosions at Fuego generated ash plumes that rose as high as 850 m above the crater rim and drifted as far as11 km W, SW, and S. Ashfall was reported in areas downwind including Panimaché I and II (8 km SW), Morelia (9 km SW), and Santa Sofía (12 km SW). Rumbling from the explosions was sometimes heard. During 10-11 April incandescent material was ejected 100-150 m above the crater, generating minor avalanches in the area of the cone.
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.
Source: Instituto Nacional de Sismologia, Vulcanologia, Meteorologia, e Hidrologia (INSIVUMEH)