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Report on Fuego (Guatemala) — 7 February-13 February 2024


Fuego

Smithsonian Institution / US Geological Survey
Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 7 February-13 February 2024
Managing Editor: Sally Sennert. Written by Zachary W. Hastings.

Please cite this report as:

Global Volcanism Program, 2024. Report on Fuego (Guatemala) (Hastings, Z W, and Sennert, S, eds.). Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 7 February-13 February 2024. Smithsonian Institution and US Geological Survey.

Weekly Report (7 February-13 February 2024)

Fuego

Guatemala

14.473°N, 90.88°W; summit elev. 3763 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


INSIVUMEH reported that eruptive activity continued at Fuego during 7-13 February. Explosions were recorded daily, between 3-10 per hour. The explosions generated gas-and-ash plumes that rose as high as 1.0 km above the crater rim and drifted as far as 20 km in multiple directions. Explosions caused frequent block avalanches that descended various drainages including the Ceniza (SSW), Seca (W), Taniluyá (SW), Honda (E), and Las Lajas (SE) and reached vegetated areas. The explosions also ejected incandescent material as high as 400 m above the summit and weak rumbling sounds and shockwaves were reported daily. On 7 February fine ashfall was reported in Panimaché I (8 km SW), Morelia (9 km SW), Finca La Asunción (12 km SW), La Rochela (8 km SSW), and other nearby communities.

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)