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Bárcena

Photo of this volcano
  • Mexico
  • Pyroclastic cone(s)
  • 1953 CE
  •  
  • Country
  • Primary Volcano Type
  • Last Known Eruption
  •  
  • 19.3°N
  • 110.82°W

  • 332 m
    1089 ft

  • 341020
  • Latitude
  • Longitude

  • Summit
    Elevation

  • Volcano
    Number

The Global Volcanism Program has no activity reports for Bárcena.

The Global Volcanism Program has no Weekly Reports available for Bárcena.

The Global Volcanism Program has no Bulletin Reports available for Bárcena.

This compilation of synonyms and subsidiary features may not be comprehensive. Features are organized into four major categories: Cones, Craters, Domes, and Thermal Features. Synonyms of features appear indented below the primary name. In some cases additional feature type, elevation, or location details are provided.

Eruptive History

There is data available for 1 confirmed Holocene eruptive periods.

1952 Aug 1 - 1953 Feb 24 ± 4 days Confirmed Eruption Max VEI: 3

Episode 1 | Eruption Episode South end of Isla San Benedicto
1952 Aug 1 - 1953 Feb 24 ± 4 days Evidence from Observations: Reported

List of 14 Events for Episode 1 at South end of Isla San Benedicto

Start Date End Date Event Type Event Remarks
   - - - -    - - - - Explosion
   - - - -    - - - - Eruption cloud
   - - - -    - - - - Pyroclastic flow
   - - - -    - - - - Lava flow
   - - - -    - - - - Lava flow Entered water.
   - - - -    - - - - Lava dome
   - - - -    - - - - Ash
   - - - -    - - - - Lapilli
   - - - -    - - - - Bombs
   - - - -    - - - - Blocks
   - - - -    - - - - Pumice
   - - - -    - - - - Flames
   - - - -    - - - - Audible Sounds
1952 Aug 1    - - - - VEI (Explosivity Index)
Deformation History

There is no Deformation History data available for Bárcena.

Emission History

There is no Emissions History data available for Bárcena.

Photo Gallery

An aerial view from the SE shows the Bárcena tuff cone, constructed during an eruption in the Revillagigedo Islands off the western coast of México during 1952-53. The 700-m-wide crater is partially filled by lava, and the lava delta at the lower right was fed from a vent on the flank. The tuff cone was constructed to a height of about 330 m from near sea level within the first few weeks of an eruption that began on 1 August. Lava was seen in the crater by mid-September and flank lava extrusion began on 8 December.

Photo by Adrian Richards, 1955 (U.S. Navy Electronics Laboratory).
Bárcena volcano forms the elongate island of San Benedicto, seen here from the SW in March 1955. The circular summit crater at the center and the lava delta to the right of the tuff cone formed during an eruption in 1952-53. Pleistocene lava domes are located at the far NE tip of the island. Dark-colored lava from the 1952-53 eruption can be seen in the summit crater.

Photo by Adrian Richards, 1955 (U.S. Navy Hydrographic Office).
A steaming lava flow issuing from a fissure on the SE flank of Bárcena volcano, in the Revillagigedo Islands west of México, forms a peninsula about 300 m wide that extends about 230 m out to sea. This photo from the SE on 11 December 1952 was taken three days after the beginning of lava extrusion. By the time the eruption ended in February 1953 the lava delta had extended the shoreline by 700 m.

Photo by Adrian Richards, 1952 (U.S. Navy Hydrographic Office).
This aerial view from the west shows the new Volcán Bárcena summit crater producing a plume. The 700-m-wide crater had grown to a height of about 380 m in the first two weeks of the eruption. At the time of this 20 September 1952 photo, taken about seven weeks after the start of the eruption, the first of two lava domes had emerged in the summit crater. Extrusion of a lava flow that formed a delta on the far SE side of the island had not yet begun.

Photo by U.S. Navy, 1952 (courtesy of Sherman Neuschel, U.S. Geological Survey).
Pyroclastic surges at about 0805 on 1 August 1952 travel across the sea at the western coast of the island, 20 minutes after the start of the eruption. Several inches of ash and lapilli up to 12 mm in diameter fell on the deck of the fishing boat from which this photo was taken as it sailed away from the volcano at full speed.

Photo by Robert Petrie, 1952 (U.S. Navy; courtesy of Sherman Neuschel, U.S. Geological Survey).
A Vulcanian ash plume rises from the Bárcena crater on 9 September 1952, more than a month after the start of the eruption. The roughly 300-m-wide crater is seen here from the east. Explosions producing eruption columns that rose to about 600 m above sea level were observed at 20-minute intervals, along with occasional small pyroclastic surges that swept down the flanks of the cone and sometimes reached the coast. The roar of the eruption was heard above the noise of the plane's engine.

Photo by U.S. Navy, 1952 (courtesy of Sherman Neuschel, U.S. Geological Survey).
A small eruption on 10 December 1952 took place from the moat between the inner (dark-colored) and outer lava domes in the Bárcena summit crater. A lava dome was first observed on 20 September, when it was about 8 m high and 55 m wide. On 15 November the dome was observed to fill about half of the 700-m-wide crater. At the time of this photo, an older outer dome littered with breadcrust bombs and ejecta surrounded the new inner dome.

Photo by L.W. Walker, 1952 (courtesy of Sherman Neuschel, U.S. Geological Survey).
An overflight on 15 November 1952 shows the Bárcena crater half-filled with viscous lava. Sporadic small explosions were observed during the overflight, and continuous weak steam emission took place from the center of the dome. Montículo Cinerítico in the background and to the left is an eroded cone at the southern tip of the island that formed before the 1952 eruption.

Photo by U.S. Navy, 1952 (courtesy of Sherman Neuschel, U.S. Geological Survey).
A new cone, Volcán Bárcena, was rapidly constructed during an eruption that began on 1 August 1952 at the southern end of Isla San Benedicto. This photo, taken from off the west coast of the island only four minutes after the start of the eruption, also shows the onset of pyroclastic surges. Lava extrusion occurred in September, November, and December. On 8 December activity shifted to a vent on the SE flank, producing a lava delta that extended about 700 m to sea. Activity ended in late February 1953.

Photo by Robert Petrie, 1952 (U.S. Navy; courtesy of Sherman Neuschel, U.S. Geological Survey).
This lava delta formed during the 1952-53 eruption, seen here from the NE. The Delta Lávico flow extended 700 m out to sea on the SE side of Isla San Benedicto and formed a peninsula about 1.2 km wide. The lava can be seen extruding from the vent on the lower SE flank. The eruption began on 8 December and by the following morning the lava flow had reached the coast. Lava effusion continued into February 1953.

Photo by U.S. Navy, 1952 (courtesy of Sherman Neuschel, U.S. Geological Survey).
Entry of the Delta Lávico lava flow into the sea produces steam along the flow margins. The flow originated from a vent low on the Volcán Bárcena 1952-53 tuff cone. Punta Sur, the southernmost tip of the island, is in the left background and is a Montículo Cinerítico tuff cone that formed prior to the 1952 eruption and was formerly the highest point on the island.

Photo by U.S. Navy, 1952 (courtesy of Sherman Neuschel, U.S. Geological Survey).
Wave erosion rapidly modified the once smooth coastal margin of the lava delta that erupted in 1952-53. The vent that produced the flow is to the left at the base of the light-colored tuff cone that also formed during the eruption. The Delta Lávico flow extended 700 m out to sea and formed a peninsula about 1.2 km wide.

Photo by Hugo Delgado-Granados, 1993 (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México).
The Delta Lávico flow forms a peninsula on the SE flank of Volcán Bárcena at the southern end of San Benedicto Island. The tuff cone and lava flow formed during the 1952-53 eruption. The flat-topped cone to the right is Cráter Herrera, a lava dome with crater. Another lava dome, Roca Challenger, forms the northern tip of the island beyond Cráter Herrera.

Photo by Hugo Delgado-Granados, 1993 (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México).
GVP Map Holdings

The maps shown below have been scanned from the GVP map archives and include the volcano on this page. Clicking on the small images will load the full 300 dpi map. Very small-scale maps (such as world maps) are not included. The maps database originated over 30 years ago, but was only recently updated and connected to our main database. We welcome users to tell us if they see incorrect information or other problems with the maps; please use the Contact GVP link at the bottom of the page to send us email.

Smithsonian Sample Collections Database

The following 42 samples associated with this volcano can be found in the Smithsonian's NMNH Department of Mineral Sciences collections, and may be availble for research (contact the Rock and Ore Collections Manager). Catalog number links will open a window with more information.

Catalog Number Sample Description Lava Source Collection Date
NMNH 109392-1 Soda Trachyte -- --
NMNH 109392-10 Soda Trachyte -- --
NMNH 109392-11 Soda Trachyte -- --
NMNH 109392-12 Trachyandesite -- --
NMNH 109392-13 Trachyandesite -- --
NMNH 109392-14 Soda Trachyte -- --
NMNH 109392-15 Pumice -- --
NMNH 109392-16 Trachyte -- --
NMNH 109392-17 Trachyte -- --
NMNH 109392-18 Trachyandesite -- --
NMNH 109392-19 Soda Rhyolite -- --
NMNH 109392-2 Soda Trachyte -- --
NMNH 109392-20 Trachyte -- --
NMNH 109392-21 Soda Rhyolite -- --
NMNH 109392-22 Soda Trachyte -- --
NMNH 109392-23 Basalt -- --
NMNH 109392-24 Soda Trachyte -- --
NMNH 109392-25 Trachyandesite -- --
NMNH 109392-26 Trachyte -- --
NMNH 109392-27 Trachyte -- --
NMNH 109392-28 Trachyte (?) -- --
NMNH 109392-29 Unidentified -- --
NMNH 109392-3 Soda Trachyte -- --
NMNH 109392-30 Unidentified -- --
NMNH 109392-31 Andesite -- --
NMNH 109392-32 Trachyte -- --
NMNH 109392-33 Soda Trachyte -- --
NMNH 109392-34 Soda Trachyte -- --
NMNH 109392-35 Trachyandesite -- --
NMNH 109392-36 Pumice -- --
NMNH 109392-37 Trachyandesite -- --
NMNH 109392-38 Trachyandesite -- --
NMNH 109392-4 Soda Trachyte -- --
NMNH 109392-5 Soda Trachyte -- --
NMNH 109392-6 Soda Trachyte -- --
NMNH 109392-7 Soda Trachyte -- --
NMNH 109392-8 Olivine Trachybasalt -- --
NMNH 109392-9 Trachyte -- --
NMNH 117450-38 Scoria -- --
NMNH 117450-39 Pumice -- --
NMNH 117450-40 Pumice -- --
NMNH 117450-41 Pumice -- --
External Sites