Report on Telica (Nicaragua) — 9 July-15 July 2025
Smithsonian Institution / US Geological Survey
Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 9 July-15 July 2025
Managing Editor: Sally Sennert.
Please cite this report as:
Global Volcanism Program, 2025. Report on Telica (Nicaragua) (Sennert, S, ed.). Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 9 July-15 July 2025. Smithsonian Institution and US Geological Survey.
Telica
Nicaragua
12.606°N, 86.84°W; summit elev. 1036 m
All times are local (unless otherwise noted)
The Washington Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC) reported that at 0600 on 14 July a diffuse ash plume from Telica was identified in a satellite image drifting about 20 km S at an altitude of 1.5 (5,000 ft) a.s.l. The ash emission was also visible in webcam views.
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.