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Report on Telica (Nicaragua) — 2 December-8 December 2020


Telica

Smithsonian Institution / US Geological Survey
Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 2 December-8 December 2020
Managing Editor: Sally Sennert.

Please cite this report as:

Global Volcanism Program, 2020. Report on Telica (Nicaragua) (Sennert, S, ed.). Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 2 December-8 December 2020. Smithsonian Institution and US Geological Survey.

Weekly Report (2 December-8 December 2020)

Telica

Nicaragua

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

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


INETER reported that there were 598 “low energy” ash-and-gas explosions at Telica recorded during 1-3 December, making a total of 775 recorded since the activity began on 30 November. Gas-and-ash plumes rose 50-400 m above the crater rim and mainly drifted SW. Ashfall was reported in areas downwind including in Zarandaj (7 km WSW), Cristo Rey (6 km W), Las Colinas (7 km WSW), Garrobo Empinado (8 km SW), El Panal (9 km SSW), Canta Rana, Ceibo Chachagua (10 km SW), Las Mercedes, Punta Arena (11 km SW), La Virgen, and Filiberto Morales (15 km WSW).

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.

Source: Instituto Nicaragüense de Estudios Territoriales (INETER)