Global Volcanism Program

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

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

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

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.

Cones

Feature Name

Feature Type

Elevation

Latitude

Longitude

Macanze, Cerro
Nacanze, Cerro

Pyroclastic cone

776 m

13° 51' 43" N

89° 3' 48" W

Tecomatepe, Cerro

Stratovolcano

1003 m

13° 50' 35" N

89° 3' 9" W

Basic Data

Volcano Number

Last Known Eruption

Elevation

Latitude
Longitude

343052

Unknown - Evidence Uncertain

1,438 m / 4,718 ft

13.9°N
89.12°W

Morphology

Volcano Landform
Composite

Volcano Types
Stratovolcano
Pyroclastic cone(s)

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

6,492
94,131
2,488,228
6,800,406

Geological Summary

Guazapa is a massive, eroded Pleistocene stratovolcano that rises 1000 m above the surrounding countryside NE of the capital city of San Salvador. The basaltic volcano has no trace of its original summit crater, and deep canyons cut its flanks. Several young Holocene pyroclastic cones and lava flows of similar composition are found at the base of the volcano (Williams and Meyer-Abich, 1955). The Macanze scoria cone at the SE base was considered to have probably been active only a few thousand years ago; however, Weber and Wiesemann (1978) did not map Holocene vents in this area.

References

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

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

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.

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 Guazapa. If this volcano has had large eruptions (VEI >= 4) prior to 12,000 years ago, information might be found on the Guazapa 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 Guazapa.

Emission History

There is no Emissions History data available for Guazapa.

Photo Gallery

Guazapa is an eroded Pleistocene volcano NE of the capital city of San Salvador, and is seen here from the SW. There are several relatively young cones and lava flows of similar composition around the lower flanks.

Photo by Carlos Pullinger, 1996 (Servicio Nacional de Estudios Territoriales, El Salvador).

Guazapa is seen here from the west, 3 km NE of the town of Guazapa. This eroded Pleistocene cone is one of the largest of the interior valley of El Salvador. Deep erosional valleys have formed down the flanks, and younger cones and lava flows are found around its base.

Photo by Giuseppina Kysar, 1999 (Smithsonian Institution).

The massive Pleistocene Guazapa stratovolcano (left-center) is seen here in an aerial view from the SW with the Río Lempa behind it. The youngest flank vent of Guazapa is Cerro Macanze, which lies on the SE flank of the volcano, behind the two small volcanoes in the right-center part of the photo. The dark-colored unvegetated lava flow in the foreground was erupted in 1917 from the flank of San Salvador volcano.

Photo by Paul Kimberly, 1999 (Smithsonian Institution).

The western side of Lake Ilopango is seen from the southern rim of Ilopango caldera. The broad peak on the right-hand horizon is the Pleistocene Guazapa volcano. The northern wall of Ilopango caldera rises about 400-500 m above the lake. Much of the caldera rim contains thick caldera-forming eruption deposits, and some lava domes are exposed in the caldera wall.

Photo by Bill Rose, 1978 (Michigan Technological University).

Volcán de Guazapa (near the center) rises beyond the Cerrón Grande reservoir (lower right) in this view from the NE. The smaller cone to the left of Guazapa is Cerro Tecomatepe. San Salvador volcano is to the upper left, the Santa Ana complex is the broad massif at the upper right, and peaks of the Sierra Apaneca near the Guatemalan border form the irregular ridge to the far right.

Photo by Lee Siebert, 2002 (Smithsonian Institution).

GVP Map Holdings

Maps are not currently available due to technical issues.

Smithsonian Sample Collections Database

There are no samples for Guazapa 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 Guazapa. 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 Guazapa. 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 Guazapa

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).