Global Volcanism Program

The Global Volcanism Program has no activity reports available for Ixhuatán.

The Global Volcanism Program has no Weekly Reports available for Ixhuatán.

The Global Volcanism Program has no Bulletin Reports available for Ixhuatán.

This compilation of synonyms and subsidiary features may not be comprehensive. Features are organized into four major categories: Cones, Craters, Domes, and Thermal Features. Synonyms of features appear indented below the primary name. In some cases additional feature type, elevation, or location details are provided.

Domes

Feature Name

Feature Type

Elevation

Latitude

Longitude

Achiotes, Cerro los

Dome

1460 m

14° 10' 0" N

90° 14' 0" W

Chino el Pital, Cerro

Dome

1180 m

14° 9' 0" N

90° 14' 0" W

Tatascamital, Cerro

Dome

1360 m

14° 11' 0" N

90° 13' 0" W

Basic Data

Volcano Number

Last Known Eruption

Elevation

Latitude
Longitude

342805

Pleistocene

1,675 m / 5,495 ft

14.161°N
90.286°W

Morphology

Volcano Landform
Composite

Volcano Types
Complex
Lava dome(s)

Tectonic Setting

Subduction zone
Continental crust (> 25 km)

Geological Summary

The low-angle, eroded Ixhuatán volcanic complex covers a broad area between Tecuamburro and Moyuta volcanoes, south of the major regional Jalpatagua fault. The dominantly andesitic volcano was assigned a Pliocene-Pleistocene age by Reynolds (1987), and a Potassium-Argon date of 1.160 ± 0.050 million years was obtained by Duffield et al. (1989) on a lava flow. Silicic pyroclastic-flow deposits are found in the Río los Esclavos, west of the volcano. The youngest center is a dacitic lava-dome complex at Cerro los Achiotes. The domes and associated ashfall and ashflow deposits partially fill and extend from a horseshoe-shaped caldera that is breached to the SE and may have formed as a result of slope failure. A N-S-trending fault zone that cuts across the volcano was the site of a seismic swarm in 1979-80.

References

The following references have all been used during the compilation of data for this volcano, it is not a comprehensive bibliography.

Duffield W A, Heiken G H, Wohletz K H, Maassen L W, Dengo G, Mckee E H, 1989. Geology and geothermal potential of the Tecuamburro volcano area of Guatemala. Trans Geotherm Res Council, 13: 125-131.

Duffield W A, Heiken G H, Wohletz K H, Maassen L W, Dengo G, Pinzon O, 1991. Geologic map of Tecuamburro volcano and surrounding area, Guatemala. U S Geol Surv Map, I-2197, 1:50,000 geol map.

Heiken G, Duffield W, 1990. An evaluation of the geothermal potential of the Tecuamburro volcano area of Guatemala. Central Amer Energy Resour Project, LA-11906-MS, Los Alamos Natl Lab, Los Alamos, NM 87545, 37 p.

IAVCEI, 1973-80. Post-Miocene Volcanoes of the World. IAVCEI Data Sheets, Rome: Internatl Assoc Volc Chemistry Earth's Interior.

Reynolds J H, 1987. Timing and sources of Neogene and Quaternary volcanism in south-central Guatemala. J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res., 33: 9-22.

Siebert L, Alvarado G E, Vallance J W, van Wyk de Vries B, 2006. Large-volume volcanic edifice failures in Central America and associated hazards. In: Rose W I, Bluth G J S, Carr M J, Ewert J W, Patino L C, Vallance J W (eds), Volcanic hazards in Central America, Geol Soc Amer Spec Pap, 412: 1-26.

Eruptive History

The Global Volcanism Program is not aware of any Holocene eruptions from Ixhuatán. If this volcano has had large eruptions (VEI >= 4) prior to 12,000 years ago, information might be found on the Ixhuatán page in the LaMEVE (Large Magnitude Explosive Volcanic Eruptions) database, a part of the Volcano Global Risk Identification and Analysis Project (VOGRIPA).

Deformation History

There is no Deformation History data available for Ixhuatán.

Emission History

There is no Emissions History data available for Ixhuatán.

Photo Gallery

The western side of the low-angle, eroded Ixhuatán volcanic complex rises beyond the Río Los Esclavos as seen from the flank of Tecuamburro volcano. The 1718-m-high dominantly andesitic volcano is of Pliocene-Pleistocene age. The youngest center is a dacitic lava-dome complex at Cerro los Achiotes. The domes and associated ashfall and ashflow deposits partially fill and extend from a horseshoe-shaped caldera that is breached to the SE and may have formed as a result of slope failure.

Photo by Lee Siebert, 1988 (Smithsonian Institution).

The eroded Plio-Pleistocene Ixhuatán volcano rises to the NE above the Pacific coastal plain of Guatemala. Ixhuatán has produced dominantly andesitic lava flows and volcaniclastic deposits. NE-SW-trending faults cut the volcanic complex. Pleistocene andesitic ignimbrite deposits from the neighboring Tecuamburro volcanic complex bank up onto the western flanks of Ixhuatán.

Photo by Lee Siebert, 1988 (Smithsonian Institution).

Morning fog drapes the valley of the Río Margarita, with Ixhuatán volcano in the background. The broad summit of Tecuamburro volcano is visible to the west behind Ixhuatán on the horizon left of center. Los Ochiotes complex in the center of Ixhuatán volcano is the youngest part of the volcano and consists of a group of dacitic lava domes that fills a horseshoe-shaped depression open to the SE.

Photo by Lee Siebert, 1988 (Smithsonian Institution).

Four large Pleistocene volcanic complexes are visible in this Landsat image of southern Guatemala, with the Pacific coastal plain at the bottom. Minor activity at Tecuamburro volcano continued into the Holocene at Laguna Ixpaco, the small circular white dot a little more than half-way between the Tecuamburro and Piedra Grande labels. The Río los Esclavos extends from the upper right, cutting between Tecuamburro and Ixhuatán volcanoes.

NASA Landsat image, 2000 (courtesy of Loren Siebert, University of Akron).

GVP Map Holdings

Maps are not currently available due to technical issues.

Smithsonian Sample Collections Database

There are no samples for Ixhuatán in the Smithsonian's NMNH Department of Mineral Sciences Rock and Ore collection.

External Sites

Copernicus Browser

The Copernicus Browser replaced the Sentinel Hub Playground browser in 2023, to provide access to Earth observation archives from the Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem, the main distribution platform for data from the EU Copernicus missions.

WOVOdat
   Single Volcano View
   Temporal Evolution of Unrest
   Side by Side Volcanoes

WOVOdat is a database of volcanic unrest; instrumentally and visually recorded changes in seismicity, ground deformation, gas emission, and other parameters from their normal baselines. It is sponsored by the World Organization of Volcano Observatories (WOVO) and presently hosted at the Earth Observatory of Singapore.

GVMID Data on Volcano Monitoring Infrastructure The Global Volcano Monitoring Infrastructure Database GVMID, is aimed at documenting and improving capabilities of volcano monitoring from the ground and space. GVMID should provide a snapshot and baseline view of the techniques and instrumentation that are in place at various volcanoes, which can be use by volcano observatories as reference to setup new monitoring system or improving networks at a specific volcano. These data will allow identification of what monitoring gaps exist, which can be then targeted by remote sensing infrastructure and future instrument deployments.

IRIS seismic stations/networks

Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS) Data Services map showing the location of seismic stations from all available networks (permanent or temporary) within a radius of 0.18° (about 20 km at mid-latitudes) from the given location of Ixhuatán. Users can customize a variety of filters and options in the left panel. Note that if there are no stations are known the map will default to show the entire world with a "No data matched request" error notice.

UNAVCO GPS/GNSS stations

Geodetic Data Services map from UNAVCO showing the location of GPS/GNSS stations from all available networks (permanent or temporary) within a radius of 20 km from the given location of Ixhuatán. Users can customize the data search based on station or network names, location, and time window. Requires Adobe Flash Player.

Large Eruptions of Ixhuatán

Information about large Quaternary eruptions (VEI >= 4) is cataloged in the Large Magnitude Explosive Volcanic Eruptions (LaMEVE) database of the Volcano Global Risk Identification and Analysis Project (VOGRIPA).

EarthChem

EarthChem develops and maintains databases, software, and services that support the preservation, discovery, access and analysis of geochemical data, and facilitate their integration with the broad array of other available earth science parameters. EarthChem is operated by a joint team of disciplinary scientists, data scientists, data managers and information technology developers who are part of the NSF-funded data facility Integrated Earth Data Applications (IEDA). IEDA is a collaborative effort of EarthChem and the Marine Geoscience Data System (MGDS).