Global Volcanism Program

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

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

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

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

Pacayal, El

Cones

Feature Name

Feature Type

Elevation

Latitude

Longitude

Limbo, Cerro el

Pyroclastic cone

1380 m

13° 28' 26" N

88° 20' 17" W

Craters

Feature Name

Feature Type

Elevation

Latitude

Longitude

Pacayal, Laguna Seca el

Crater

1300 m

13° 28' 30" N

88° 19' 1" W

Thermal

Feature Name

Feature Type

Elevation

Latitude

Longitude

Boquerón, Ausoles el

Thermal

720 m

13° 31' 0" N

88° 21' 43" W

Infiernillos de Chinameca

Thermal

700 m

13° 30' 4" N

88° 19' 41" W

Volcancito, Ausoles del
Viejona, Ausoles la

Thermal

600 m

13° 31' 0" N

88° 21' 43" W

Basic Data

Volcano Number

Last Known Eruption

Elevation

Latitude
Longitude

343090

Unknown - Evidence Credible

1,300 m / 4,265 ft

13.478°N
88.33°W

Morphology

Volcano Landform
Composite

Volcano Types
Stratovolcano
Caldera
Pyroclastic cone

Rock Types

Major
Andesite / Basaltic Andesite

Tectonic Setting

Subduction zone
Continental crust (> 25 km)

Population

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

14,998
89,206
824,983
4,897,760

Geological Summary

The small Chinameca stratovolcano (also known as El Pacayal) lies across a low saddle abotu 7 km NW of the large San Miguel volcano. A 2-km-wide, steep-sided caldera, Laguna Seca el Pacayal, truncates the summit, whose flanks are covered with coffee plantations. The Holocene cone of Cerro el Limbo on the W flank rises above the level of the caldera rim, and a Holocene lava flow extends from a NNW-flank vent into the lowlands to the N beyond the town of Chinameca (Weber and Weisemann, 1978). A group of fumarole fields on the N flank surrounds the city of Chinameca, and the volcano has been the site of a geothermal exploration program.

References

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

Carr M J, 1984. Symmetrical and segmented variation of physical and geochemical characterisitics of the Central American volcanic front. J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res., 20: 231-252. https://doi.org/10.1016/0377-0273(84)90041-6

Chesner C A, Pullinger C R, Escobar C D, 2004. Physical and chemical evolution of San Miguel volcano, El Salvador. In: Rose W I, Bommer J J, Lopez D L, Carr M J, Major J J (eds), Natural Hazards in El Salvador, Geol Soc Amer Spec Pap, 375: 213-226.

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

Mooser F, Meyer-Abich H, McBirney A R, 1958. Central America. Catalog of Active Volcanoes of the World and Solfatara Fields, Rome: IAVCEI, 6: 1-146.

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

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

Emission History

There is no Emissions History data available for Chinameca.

Photo Gallery

Chinameca is a small stratovolcano with a roughly 2-km-wide summit caldera, is seen here from San Miguel volcano to its SE. The Holocene Cerro el Limbo cone (left) is on the western flank, and a Holocene lava flow extends to the north from a vent on the NNW flank. The small peak on the far-right flank is Cerro Partido.

Photo by Kristal Dorion, 1994 (U.S. Geological Survey).

This geothermal area known as Chinameca 4 is one of several surrounding the city of Chinameca. Temperatures of around 100°C have been recorded at the fumaroles of Ausoles la Volcancito, Ausoles el Boquerón, and Infiernillos de Chinameca. The high heat flow has made this area the object of geothermal exploration.

Photo courtesy of Comisión Ejecutiva Hidroeléctricia del Río Lempa (CEL).

Gases rise from fumaroles within hydrothermally altered rock on the Chinameca northern flank. Fumarole fields surround the city of Chinameca on several sides, within a few kilometers of the town.

Photo courtesy of Comisión Ejecutiva Hidroeléctricia del Río Lempa (CEL).

Chinameca volcano in the distance contains a 2-km-wide caldera, seen here from the north with the summit of San Miguel behind it to the left. A cluster of geothermal fields is located on the northern flank, surrounding the city of Chinameca.

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

Los Infiernillos Cantón las Meses geothermal area at Chinameca volcano features a cluster of mudpools. This is part of a series of geothermal fields surrounding the city of Chinameca.

Photo by Carlos Pullinger, 1994 (Servicio Nacional de Estudios Territoriales, El Salvador).

The Chinameca volcanic complex is seen here from the west beyond the lower flank of Pleistocene El Tigre volcano. The lower peak at the right side of the Chinameca complex is Cerro el Limbo, a cone on the western flank of Chinameca caldera. The higher peak at the upper right is San Miguel volcano, which is separated by a low saddle from Chinameca.

Photo by Carlos Pullinger, 1994 (Servicio Nacional de Estudios Territoriales, El Salvador).

Conical San Miguel volcano, one of El Salvador's most prominent landmarks, rises across a low saddle SE of Chinameca (Pacayal) volcano. The 2130-m-high San Miguel is seen here from Cerro el Limbo, a cone on the western flank of Chinameca. The southern side of Chinameca's 2-km-wide summit caldera is visible at the left.

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

Chinameca stratovolcano is seen here from the SE near the summit of neighboring San Miguel volcano. A 2-km-wide, steep-sided caldera, Laguna Seca el Pacayal (right-center), truncates the summit of Chinameca volcano. The Holocene cone of Cerro el Limbo (in the partial shade left of the caldera) on the western flank rises to a point above the level of the caldera rim. A group of fumarole fields is located on the north flank of the volcano near the town of Chinameca, and the volcano has been the site of a geothermal exploration program.

Photo by Lee Siebert, 1999 (Smithsonian Institution).

Chinameca volcano, also known as El Pacayal, is seen here to the NW from the barren upper flanks of San Miguel volcano. Coffee plantations mantle the slopes of the 1300-m-high stratovolcano, which is truncated by a 2-km-wide caldera. The high point of the caldera, Cerro el Pacayal, lies on the western rim (left-center) and rises about 450 m above the caldera floor. The rounded peak of Cerro el Limbo at the left rises to above 1380 m, exceeding the height of the caldera rim.

Photo by Lee Siebert, 1999 (Smithsonian Institution).

The 2.4-km-wide Laguna Seca el Pacayal is the caldera of Chinameca in the center of this December 2019 Planet Labs satellite image monthly mosaic (N is at the top). The smaller cone on the SW flank is Cerro el Limbo with a summit reaching above the caldera rim.

Satellite image courtesy of Planet Labs Inc., 2019 (https://www.planet.com/).

GVP Map Holdings

Maps are not currently available due to technical issues.

Smithsonian Sample Collections Database

There are no samples for Chinameca 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 Chinameca. 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 Chinameca. 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 Chinameca

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).