Global Volcanism Program

The Global Volcanism Program has no activity reports available for San Diego.

The Global Volcanism Program has no Weekly Reports available for San Diego.

The Global Volcanism Program has no Bulletin Reports available for San Diego.

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.

Synonyms

Güija Volcanic Field

Cones

Feature Name

Feature Type

Elevation

Latitude

Longitude

Chata, Cerro la

Lava cone

746 m

14° 24' 0" N

89° 34' 0" W

Clara, Laguneta

Pyroclastic cone

480 m

14° 18' 0" N

89° 28' 0" W

Conventilio, Cerro

Cone

580 m

14° 10' 0" N

89° 30' 0" W

Coyotes, Cerro los

Cone

595 m

14° 12' 0" N

89° 29' 0" W

Culebra, Loma la

Pyroclastic cone

572 m

14° 20' 0" N

89° 36' 0" W

Iguana, Loma

Pyroclastic cone

521 m

14° 17' 0" N

89° 30' 0" W

Junquillo, Cerro

Pyroclastic cone

640 m

14° 20' 0" N

89° 35' 0" W

Masatepeque, Cerro

Pyroclastic cone

540 m

14° 18' 0" N

89° 29' 0" W

Ostúa, Cerro de

Pyroclastic cone

580 m

14° 19' 0" N

89° 35' 0" W

Pajalitos, Loma los

Pyroclastic cone

500 m

14° 18' 0" N

89° 30' 0" W

Quemado, Cerro

Pyroclastic cone

460 m

14° 15' 0" N

89° 28' 0" W

San Jorge, Cerro de

Cone

680 m

14° 10' 0" N

89° 29' 0" W

Shiste, Cerro el

Lava cone

780 m

14° 24' 0" N

89° 34' 0" W

Tecuán, Cerro

Lava cone

812 m

14° 24' 0" N

89° 34' 0" W

Tule, Cerro el

Cone

468 m

14° 15' 0" N

89° 29' 0" W

Vega de la Caña, Cerro la

Pyroclastic cone

465 m

14° 17' 0" N

89° 30' 0" W

Basic Data

Volcano Number

Last Known Eruption

Elevation

Latitude
Longitude

343001

Unknown - Evidence Credible

781 m / 2,562 ft

14.27°N
89.48°W

Morphology

Volcano Landform
Cluster

Volcano Types
Volcanic field

Rock Types

Major
Basalt / Picro-Basalt

Tectonic Setting

Subduction zone
Continental crust (> 25 km)

Population

Within 5 km
Within 10 km
Within 30 km
Within 100 km

130,144
130,144
316,296
7,169,826

Geological Summary

An extensive volcanic field of basaltic cinder cones and barren lava flows near Lake Güija, which straddles the border between El Salvador and Guatemala, is named after its largest feature, Volcán de San Diego. A large basaltic lava flow from the San Diego cinder cone dammed the drainage and was responsible for the formation of Lake Güija. Volcanism is concentrated in two areas near Lake Güija: volcanic cones including San Diego E of the lake, and small cones N of the lake near the Guatemalan border, N of the Río Ostua. None of the eruptions have been dated, but Williams and McBirney (1955) estimated that the latest eruption occurred within the past few thousand years. Quaternary volcanic rocks are also located across Lake Güija in Guatemala.

References

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

Sapper K, 1925. The Volcanoes of Central America. Halle: Verlag Max Niemeyer, 144 p.

Weber H S, Wiesemann G, 1978. Mapa Geologico de la Republica de El Salvador/America Central. Bundesanstalt fur Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe, Hannover, Germany, 1:100,000 scale geologic map in 6 sheets.

Weyl R, 1952. Estudios geologicos en la region del Rio Comalapa, El Salvador. El Salv Univ Inst Tropical Inv Cient Commun, 3: 4-7.

Williams H, Meyer-Abich H, 1955. Volcanism in the southern part of El Salvador with particular reference to the collapse basins of Lakes Coatepeque and Ilopango. Univ Calif Pub Geol Sci, 32: 1-64.

Eruptive History

The Global Volcanism Program is not aware of any Holocene eruptions from San Diego. If this volcano has had large eruptions (VEI >= 4) prior to 12,000 years ago, information might be found on the San Diego 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 San Diego.

Emission History

There is no Emissions History data available for San Diego.

Photo Gallery

Cerro Quemado scoria cone near of the outlet of Lake Güija has been extensively quarried, and only a remnant remains. The San Diego volcanic field is along the El Salvador/Guatemala border and contains numerous scoria cones and associated lava flows on both sides of Lake Güija.

Photo by Giuseppina Kysar, 1999 (Smithsonian Institution).

An extensive volcanic field of scoria cones and lava flows near Lake Güija is named after its largest feature, Volcán de San Diego (upper right). A large lava flow from the San Diego scoria cone dammed the drainage and was responsible for the formation of 12-km-long Lake Güija, which lies mostly in El Salvador and extends across the border into Guatemala. Cerro el Tule scoria cone in the center of the photo is near the eastern shore of the lake.

Photo by Giuseppina Kysar, 1999 (Smithsonian Institution).

Volcán de San Diego (upper right) is seen here from the south at the outlet of Lake Güija. The lake formed after lava flows from San Diego blocked the channel of the Desagüe river. Cerro el Tule (left) lies across a narrow channel from the lower flanks of San Diego. Cerro el Tule contains a summit crater and is one of the many cones of the San Diego volcanic field.

Photo by Giuseppina Kysar, 1999 (Smithsonian Institution).

A panoramic view from the NE shows from left to right Volcán de San Diego, Cerro Masatepeque, and Loma Iguana. Laguna de Metapán is to the right. San Diego is the largest cone of a volcanic field surrounding Lake Güija on the El Salvador/Guatemala border. Lava flows from smaller vents of the San Diego volcanic field were responsible for blocking drainages and forming Laguna de Metapán, and the larger Lago de Güija was formed as a result of flows from Volcán de San Diego.

Photo by Giuseppina Kysar, 1999 (Smithsonian Institution).

Young lava flows from Volcán de San Diego (left center) extend into Lake Güija (lower left). The prominent cinder cone on the lake shore directly south of Volcán de San Diego is Cerro el Tule. Young basaltic lava flows from other vents of the San Diego volcanic field in western El Salvador, such as Cerro la Vega de la Cana and Loma Iguana (upper left), extend into both Lake Güija and Laguna de Metapán at the top of the photo. The cinder cone north of Volcán de San Diego (surrounded by older lava flows) is Cerro Masatepeque.

Aerial photo by Instituto Geográfico Nacional El Salvador, 1977.

GVP Map Holdings

Maps are not currently available due to technical issues.

Smithsonian Sample Collections Database

There are no samples for San Diego 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.

MIROVA

Middle InfraRed Observation of Volcanic Activity (MIROVA) is a near real time volcanic hot-spot detection system based on the analysis of MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) data. In particular, MIROVA uses the Middle InfraRed Radiation (MIR), measured over target volcanoes, in order to detect, locate and measure the heat radiation sourced from volcanic activity.

MODVOLC Thermal Alerts

Using infrared satellite Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data, scientists at the Hawai'i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, University of Hawai'i, developed an automated system called MODVOLC to map thermal hot-spots in near real time. For each MODIS image, the algorithm automatically scans each 1 km pixel within it to check for high-temperature hot-spots. When one is found the date, time, location, and intensity are recorded. MODIS looks at every square km of the Earth every 48 hours, once during the day and once during the night, and the presence of two MODIS sensors in space allows at least four hot-spot observations every two days. Each day updated global maps are compiled to display the locations of all hot spots detected in the previous 24 hours. There is a drop-down list with volcano names which allow users to 'zoom-in' and examine the distribution of hot-spots at a variety of spatial scales.

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.

Volcanic Hazard Maps

The IAVCEI Commission on Volcanic Hazards and Risk has a Volcanic Hazard Maps database designed to serve as a resource for hazard mappers (or other interested parties) to explore how common issues in hazard map development have been addressed at different volcanoes, in different countries, for different hazards, and for different intended audiences. In addition to the comprehensive, searchable Volcanic Hazard Maps Database, this website contains information about diversity of volcanic hazard maps, illustrated using examples from the database. This site is for educational purposes related to volcanic hazard maps. Hazard maps found on this website should not be used for emergency purposes. For the most recent, official hazard map for a particular volcano, please seek out the proper institutional authorities on the matter.

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 San Diego. 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 San Diego. Users can customize the data search based on station or network names, location, and time window. Requires Adobe Flash Player.

DECADE Data

The DECADE portal, still in the developmental stage, serves as an example of the proposed interoperability between The Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanism Program, the Mapping Gas Emissions (MaGa) Database, and the EarthChem Geochemical Portal. The Deep Earth Carbon Degassing (DECADE) initiative seeks to use new and established technologies to determine accurate global fluxes of volcanic CO₂ to the atmosphere, but installing CO₂ monitoring networks on 20 of the world's 150 most actively degassing volcanoes. The group uses related laboratory-based studies (direct gas sampling and analysis, melt inclusions) to provide new data for direct degassing of deep earth carbon to the atmosphere.

Large Eruptions of San Diego

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).