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Santiago

Photo of this volcano
  • Country
  • Volcanic Region
  • Landform | Volc Type
  • Last Known Eruption
  • 0.22°S
  • 90.77°W

  • 920 m
    3,018 ft

  • 353090
  • Latitude
  • Longitude

  • Summit
    Elevation

  • Volcano
    Number

The Global Volcanism Program has no activity reports available for Santiago.

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

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

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 3 confirmed Holocene eruptive periods.

1904 - 1906 Dec 15 ± 45 days Confirmed Eruption VEI: 0

Episode 1 | Eruption SE flank
1904 - 1906 Dec 15 ± 45 days Evidence from Observations: Reported

List of 3 Events for Episode 1 at SE flank

Start Date End Date Event Type Event Remarks
   - - - -    - - - - Lava flow Uncertain
   - - - -    - - - - Incandescence Event was "Glow"
1904    - - - - VEI (Explosivity Index)

1897 Confirmed Eruption VEI: 0

Episode 1 | Eruption SE flank (Sullivan Bay?)
1897 - Unknown Evidence from Observations: Reported

List of 2 Events for Episode 1 at SE flank (Sullivan Bay?)

Start Date End Date Event Type Event Remarks
   - - - -    - - - - Lava flow
1897    - - - - VEI (Explosivity Index)

1759 ± 75 years Confirmed Eruption  

Episode 1 | Eruption West flank (James Bay)
1759 ± 75 years - Unknown Evidence from Correlation: Anthropology

List of 2 Events for Episode 1 at West flank (James Bay)

Start Date End Date Event Type Event Remarks
   - - - -    - - - - Lava flow
   - - - -    - - - - Lava flow Entered water.
Deformation History

There is no Deformation History data available for Santiago.

Emission History

There is no Emissions History data available for Santiago.

Photo Gallery

A spectacular suite of volcanic features flanks Sullivan Bay, at the eastern end of Santiago Island. This view looks NE across the bay to Bartolomé Island. The sharp pinnacle at the left, a remnant of an eroded tuff cone, is one of the many scenic highlights of the Galápagos Islands. Bartolomé Island contains eroded tuff cones, a dissected solidified lava lake, and a youthful lava plateau. The flat coastline of Santiago Island in the foreground is formed from a vast field of youthful pahoehoe lava flows that wraps around the SE corner of the island.

Photo by Lee Siebert, 1978 (Smithsonian Institution).
This prominent pinnacle is an eroded remnant of a tuff cone on Bartolomé Island, off the east coast of Santiago Island. A wide variety of volcanic features flanks Sullivan Bay, one of the most visited boat anchorages in the Galápagos Islands. These include tuff cones and cinder cones, a dissected solidifed lava lake, and vast fields of youthful pahoehoe lava flows.

Photo by Lee Siebert, 1978 (Smithsonian Institution).
The ropy texture of pahoehoe lava flows is produced when the thin solidifying surface of the flow is pushed by the advancing, still-molten interior. This pleated pahoehoe lobe, on a lava flow at Santiago shield volcano in the Galápagos Islands, advanced slowly from the bottom left to the top right. Pahoehoe lavas are the least viscous of common lava types, and thus form diverse surface structures.

Photo by Lee Siebert, 1978 (Smithsonian Institution).
An extensive field of spectacular pahoehoe lava flows is located near Sullivan Bay on Santiago Island. The fresh, sparsely vegetated flows cover an area of more than 50 km2 along the SE coast of the island. Eruptions occurred at SE Santiago in 1897 and 1904-06. A small lava shield 3.5 km inland from Cabo Trenton on the SE tip of the island was the principal vent of these flows.

Photo by Lee Siebert, 1978 (Smithsonian Institution).
The elongated shield volcano of Santiago Island is dotted with Holocene pyroclastic cones. Fresh lava flows that blanket the flanks of the volcano originated from these cones. The 920-m-high summit ridge, lined with NW-trending cinder and spatter cones, is seen here from James Bay on the west side of the island. The James Bay lava flows (center) reached the coast along a broad front. They were dated by fragments of marmalade pots left by buccaneers in 1684 that were subsequently embedded in the lava flows observed by Charles Darwin in 1835.

Photo by Lee Siebert, 1978 (Smithsonian Institution).
Cabo Cowan is a tuff cone at the NW tip of Santiago Island in the Galápagos Islands. Wave erosion has truncated the flanks of the cone, forming vertical sea cliffs that expose its interior stratigraphy. The cone is located where the NW-trending rift zone along the crest of Santiago shield volcano encounters the sea.

Photo by Lee Siebert, 1978 (Smithsonian Institution).
An unnamed 394-m-high cinder cone is a prominent landmark near James Bay at the western end of Santiago Island. The eruptions that constructed the cone were initially submarine, producing palagonitic tuffs. As the cone grew above sea level, subaerial explosions produced basaltic scoria that forms the upper part of the cone. A similar, but smaller cone lies immediately to the SE, out of view to the right.

Photo by Lee Siebert, 1978 (Smithsonian Institution).
GVP Map Holdings

The Global Volcanism Program has no maps available for Santiago.

Smithsonian Sample Collections Database

The following 4 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 118118-1 Basalt -- 4 Jul 1970
NMNH 118118-2 Basalt -- --
NMNH 118118-3 Basalt -- --
NMNH 118118-4 Basalt -- --
External Sites