INGEOMINAS reported that activity continued at Galeras during 7-13 December, with steam rising from the main crater and two craters to the N and SW (Paisita and Chavas, respectively). On 9 and 11 December earthquakes of M 2.3 and 2.5, felt by local residents, occurred near the crater at a depth of 1.5 km. The Alert Level remains at III (Yellow; "changes in the behavior of volcanic activity"). olcanic activity").

Geological Summary. Galeras, a stratovolcano with a large breached caldera located immediately west of the city of Pasto, is one of Colombia's most frequently active volcanoes. The dominantly andesitic complex has been active for more than 1 million years, and two major caldera collapse eruptions took place during the late Pleistocene. Long-term extensive hydrothermal alteration has contributed to large-scale edifice collapse on at least three occasions, producing debris avalanches that swept to the west and left a large open caldera inside which the modern cone has been constructed. Major explosive eruptions since the mid-Holocene have produced widespread tephra deposits and pyroclastic flows that swept all but the southern flanks. A central cone slightly lower than the caldera rim has been the site of numerous small-to-moderate eruptions since the time of the Spanish conquistadors.

Source: Servicio Geológico Colombiano (SGC)