INGEOMINAS reported that during 8-14 August seismicity at Galeras continued to be elevated. Some of the earthquakes were located near the active cone, with magnitudes less than 1 and depths not exceeding 2 km. During 7-9 and 11 August gas-and-ash plumes rose 0.9-1.3 km above the crater and drifted W and S. Sulfur dioxide emissions fluctuated between moderate and high levels. The Alert Level remained at III (Yellow; "changes in the behavior of volcanic 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)