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Rota

Photo of this volcano
  • Country
  • Volcanic Region
  • Landform | Volc Type
  • Last Known Eruption
  • 12.55°N
  • 86.75°W

  • 832 m
    2,730 ft

  • 344060
  • Latitude
  • Longitude

  • Summit
    Elevation

  • Volcano
    Number


Most Recent Bulletin Report: February 1991 (SEAN 16:02) Citation IconCite this Report

No sign of activity despite seismic swarms in the late 1970's

"Seismic swarms, which occurred in the late 1970's, had indicated the possibility of an active magma chamber below the volcano. No sign of activity was detected during fieldwork. The most recent (but pre-historic) activity at Rota was a Plinian dacite eruption followed by andesite-dacite lava flows."

Information Contacts: B. van Wyk de Vries, O. Castellón, A. Murales, and V. Tenorio, INETER, Apartado 1761, Managua, Nicaragua.

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

Bulletin Reports - Index

Reports are organized chronologically and indexed below by Month/Year (Publication Volume:Number), and include a one-line summary. Click on the index link or scroll down to read the reports.

02/1991 (SEAN 16:02) No sign of activity despite seismic swarms in the late 1970's




Information is preliminary and subject to change. All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


February 1991 (SEAN 16:02) Citation IconCite this Report

No sign of activity despite seismic swarms in the late 1970's

"Seismic swarms, which occurred in the late 1970's, had indicated the possibility of an active magma chamber below the volcano. No sign of activity was detected during fieldwork. The most recent (but pre-historic) activity at Rota was a Plinian dacite eruption followed by andesite-dacite lava flows."

Information Contacts: B. van Wyk de Vries, O. Castellón, A. Murales, and V. Tenorio, INETER, Apartado 1761, Managua, Nicaragua.

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

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

Deformation History

There is no Deformation History data available for Rota.

Emission History

There is no Emissions History data available for Rota.

Photo Gallery

Cerro Negro volcano provides a vantage point for a NW-looking view down the Marrabios Range volcanic chain. The forested slopes in the foreground are part of Rota volcano. The light-colored conical peak in the center is Volcán Santa Clara, part of the Telica volcanic complex, whose principal peak, Telica itself, just pokes its head above the horizon behind and to the right of Santa Clara. The large conical peak on the center horizon is San Cristóbal, the highest peak of the Marrabios Range. The satellitic peak of El Chonco is on the left horizon.

Photo by Dennis Nielson, 1972 (courtesy of Mike Carr, Rutgers University).
The unvegetated cone of Cerro Negro, the youngest volcano in Nicaragua, is seen here from the slopes of Las Pilas volcano at the end of its 1995 eruption. Lava flows in 1995 traveled to the NNE (right). Beyond Cerro Negro to the NW is the broad massif of Rota volcano. Unlike Telica and San Cristóbal volcanoes in the distance at the far upper left, Rota has had no historical eruptions.

Photo by Britt Hill, 1995 (Southwest Research Institute).
The deeply eroded, forested Rota stratovolcano is seen here in an aerial view from the south. The vegetated, 832-m-high volcano, also known as Orota, is truncated by a 1-km-wide circular crater. No historical eruptions are known from Volcán Rota, although seismic swarms occurred in 1986, 1989, and 1992. Two small NNW-SSE-trending lava domes, El Bosque (also known as Lomas San Ignacio del Bosque or Cerro Ojochal) form the small forested cones visible on the plain at the left center, 2 km north of the flank of Rota.

Photo by Jaime Incer, 1991.
The low, forested Rota stratovolcano rises above fields to its west in the area between Cerro Negro volcano and the Telica volcanic complex. A 1-km-wide circular crater whose rim is lowest on the southern side lies at the summit. The latest eruption from Rota produced thick andesitic lava flows from a NE-trending fissure NW of the summit. No historical eruptions are known from Volcán Rota, although seismic swarms occurred in 1986, 1989, and 1992.

Photo by Lee Siebert, 1998 (Smithsonian Institution).
Forested Rota volcano rises above steaming ground of the San Jacinto thermal area at the eastern end of the Telica volcanic complex. Highway 26 between Telica and Malpaisillo crosses the low saddle between Rota and the Telica complex and provides easy access to the mud pots and steaming vents of the thermal area. Visitors to San Jacinto are accompanied by groups of vendors who live in settlements near the thermal area.

Photo by Lee Siebert, 1998 (Smithsonian Institution).
The deeply eroded Rota stratovolcano with its circular 1-km-wide summit crater lies at the bottom-center of this radar image. The latest eruption from the 832-m-high volcano produced thick andesitic lava flows NW of the summit, which extend nearly to the Malpaisillo road cutting diagonally across the image to the upper right. Two small NNW-SSE-trending lava domes (top-center), El Bosque, are located on the plain 2 km north of the flank of Rota (top-center). The Telica volcanic complex is visible at the upper left and lava flows from Las Pilas at the far right.

Radar image, 1971 (courtesy of Jaime Incer).
GVP Map Holdings

Maps are not currently available due to technical issues.

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.

Smithsonian Sample Collections Database

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

External Sites