INSIVUMEH reported that blue-colored emissions from Pacaya were visible drifting SW and W at low altitudes on 26 June. Strombolian activity was observed from MacKenney cone the following day; weak-to-moderate explosions ejected small amounts of tephra 8 m above the crater that were then deposited on the W flank. Audible explosions were noted up to 5 km away. Incandescence was visible at night on 27 June. White fumarolic plumes rose 300 m above the cone on 28 and 30 June; white and blue fumarolic plumes drifted SW during 1-2 July. A recent investigation of MacKenney cone determined that a 15 m high cone had been the source of recent explosive activity.

Geological Summary. Eruptions from Pacaya are frequently visible from Guatemala City, the nation's capital. This complex basaltic volcano was constructed just outside the southern topographic rim of the 14 x 16 km Pleistocene Amatitlán caldera. A cluster of dacitic lava domes occupies the southern caldera floor. The post-caldera Pacaya massif includes the older Pacaya Viejo and Cerro Grande stratovolcanoes and the currently active Mackenney stratovolcano. Collapse of Pacaya Viejo between 600 and 1,500 years ago produced a debris-avalanche deposit that extends 25 km onto the Pacific coastal plain and left an arcuate scarp inside which the modern Pacaya volcano (Mackenney cone) grew. The NW-flank Cerro Chino crater was last active in the 19th century. During the past several decades, activity has consisted of frequent Strombolian eruptions with intermittent lava flow extrusion that has partially filled in the caldera moat and covered the flanks of Mackenney cone, punctuated by occasional larger explosive eruptions that partially destroy the summit.

Source: Instituto Nacional de Sismologia, Vulcanologia, Meteorologia, e Hidrologia (INSIVUMEH)