Report on Fuego (Guatemala) — 25 June-1 July 2014
Smithsonian Institution / US Geological Survey
Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 25 June-1 July 2014
Managing Editor: Sally Sennert.
Please cite this report as:
Global Volcanism Program, 2014. Report on Fuego (Guatemala) (Sennert, S, ed.). Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 25 June-1 July 2014. Smithsonian Institution and US Geological Survey.
Fuego
Guatemala
14.473°N, 90.88°W; summit elev. 3763 m
All times are local (unless otherwise noted)
INSIVUMEH reported that on 25-29 June weak to moderate explosions generated ash plumes that rose 500-800 m above the crater and drifted 10-12 km W, NW, and SE. Incandescent material that was ejected 100-200 m above the crater landed on the flank and formed avalanches. A lava flow from the crater moving SW towards the Tanilaya drainage generated avalanches into the Ceniza drainage (SSW). On 26 June explosions generated moderate and strong acoustic waves that sounded like a quiet jet engine for a period of 1-2 minutes.
Geological Summary. Volcán Fuego, one of Central America's most active volcanoes, is also one of three large stratovolcanoes overlooking Guatemala's former capital, Antigua. The scarp of an older edifice, Meseta, lies between Fuego and Acatenango to the north. Construction of Meseta dates back to about 230,000 years and continued until the late Pleistocene or early Holocene. Collapse of Meseta may have produced the massive Escuintla debris-avalanche deposit, which extends about 50 km onto the Pacific coastal plain. Growth of the modern Fuego volcano followed, continuing the southward migration of volcanism that began at the mostly andesitic Acatenango. Eruptions at Fuego have become more mafic with time, and most historical activity has produced basaltic rocks. Frequent vigorous historical eruptions have been recorded since the onset of the Spanish era in 1524, and have produced major ashfalls, along with occasional pyroclastic flows and lava flows.
Source: Instituto Nacional de Sismologia, Vulcanologia, Meteorologia, e Hidrologia (INSIVUMEH)