Utila Volcanic Center

Photo of this volcano
Country Honduras
Volcanic Region Central America Volcanic Arc
Landform | Volc Type Minor | Pyroclastic cone(s)
Last Known Eruption Pleistocene
Coordinates 16.113°N, 86.888°W
Elevation 51 m (167 ft)
Volcano Number 343160
Google Earth icon Google Earth Placemark with Features
Citation icon Cite Volcano Profile

Latest Weekly Volcanic Activity Report

The Global Volcanism Program has no Weekly Volcanic Activity Reports available for Utila Volcanic Center.

Latest Bulletin Report

The Global Volcanism Program has no Bulletin Reports available for Utila Volcanic Center.

Weekly Volcanic Activity Reports

The Global Volcanism Program has no Weekly Reports available for Utila Volcanic Center.

Bulletin Reports

The Global Volcanism Program has no Bulletin Reports available for Utila Volcanic Center.

General Information

Eruptive History

The Global Volcanism Program is not aware of any Holocene eruptions from Utila Volcanic Center. If this volcano has had large eruptions (VEI >= 4) prior to 12,000 years ago, information might be found on the Utila Volcanic Center page in the LaMEVE (Large Magnitude Explosive Volcanic Eruptions) database, a part of the Volcano Global Risk Identification and Analysis Project (VOGRIPA).

Synonyms and Subfeatures

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.

Photo Gallery

Thumbnail Photo (see caption)Pumpkin Hill, a small pyroclastic cone at the NE end of Utila Island, is seen here across a forest from Stuert Hill, the other pyroclastic cone on the eastern side of the island. The two cones lie about 2 km apart and were constructed over flat-lying terraces that cover much of the elongated, 3 x 11 km wide island. Alkaline olivine-basaltic lava flows erupted from the cones cover much of the eastern side of the island and underlie the forest in this photo. The Caribbean Sea lies in the background to the NE.

Photo by Rick Wunderman, 1999 (Smithsonian Institution).
Thumbnail Photo (see caption)The low peak in the background is Stuert Hill, a pyroclastic cone that rises only 51 m above the Caribbean Sea at the eastern end of Utila Island. The cone is seen here from across East Harbor at the SE end of the island. The cone forms an arcuate ridge composed of ejected basaltic tuffs and abundant blocks that include coral fragments, limestone, and metamorphic rocks.

Photo by Rick Wunderman, 1999 (Smithsonian Institution).
Thumbnail Photo (see caption)Pumpkin Hill, a low pyroclastic cone reaching only 74 m above sea level, is the high point of Utila Island. The cone occupies the NE tip of the island and consists of stratified basaltic lapilli and tuffs containing abundant blocks and small fragments of coral. The vent of the cone appears to lie on this side near its northern base, but only the southern half of the cone remains.

Photo by Rick Wunderman, 1999 (Smithsonian Institution).
Thumbnail Photo (see caption)The low pyroclastic cone Stuert Hill (also spelled Stuart Hill) rises beyond Utila, the largest village on the island of the same name. A ferry connects the village of Utila, formerly known as East Harbor, to the mainland of Honduras. Most of the island consists of flat-lying uplifted coral reefs; volcanic rocks are found only at the eastern end of the island.

Photo by Rick Wunderman, 1999 (Smithsonian Institution).
Thumbnail Photo (see caption)The low peak in the distance is Pumpkin Hill, a pyroclastic cone at the NE end of Utila Island. The small 74-m-high cone was erupted onto a coral-capped erosional surface forming the cliffs in the foreground and marks the high point on the island. Basaltic lavas and tuffs blanket terraces on the NE side of Utila. The island lies in the Caribbean Sea off the northern coast of Honduras and is the easternmost and lowest of the Bay Islands at the southern edge of the submarine Bartlett Trough.

Photo by Rick Wunderman, 1999 (Smithsonian Institution).

Smithsonian Sample Collections Database

There are no samples for Utila Volcanic Center in the Smithsonian's NMNH Department of Mineral Sciences Rock and Ore collection.

External Sites