Report on San Miguel (El Salvador) — 10 January-16 January 2018
Smithsonian Institution / US Geological Survey
Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 10 January-16 January 2018
Managing Editor: Sally Sennert.
Please cite this report as:
Global Volcanism Program, 2018. Report on San Miguel (El Salvador) (Sennert, S, ed.). Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 10 January-16 January 2018. Smithsonian Institution and US Geological Survey.
San Miguel
El Salvador
13.434°N, 88.269°W; summit elev. 2130 m
All times are local (unless otherwise noted)
SNET reported that at 1653 on 14 January and 1615 on 15 January gas-and-ash plumes from San Miguel rose no more than 300 m above the crater rim and dispersed SW. The report noted that prior to both emissions seismicity decreased and then suddenly increased.
Geological Summary. The symmetrical cone of San Miguel, one of the most active volcanoes in El Salvador, rises from near sea level to form one of the country's most prominent landmarks. A broad, deep, crater complex that has been frequently modified by eruptions recorded since the early 16th century caps the truncated unvegetated summit, also known locally as Chaparrastique. Flanks eruptions of the basaltic-andesitic volcano have produced many lava flows, including several during the 17th-19th centuries that extended to the N, NE, and SE. The SE-flank flows are the largest and form broad, sparsely vegetated lava fields crossed by highways and a railroad skirting the base of the volcano. Flank vent locations have migrated higher on the edifice during historical time, and the most recent activity has consisted of minor ash eruptions from the summit crater.
