Global Volcanism Program

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

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

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

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

Chanal, Cerro el

Pyroclastic cone

196 m

11° 54' 26" N

85° 59' 24" W

Granadito

Pyroclastic cone

San Antonio, Cerro

Pyroclastic cone

250 m

11° 53' 34" N

85° 59' 14" W

Craters

Feature Name

Feature Type

Elevation

Latitude

Longitude

Joya, La

Maar

70 m

11° 54' 18" N

85° 58' 25" W

Basic Data

Volcano Number

Last Known Eruption

Elevation

Latitude
Longitude

344101

Unknown - Evidence Credible

250 m / 820 ft

11.9°N
85.979°W

Morphology

Volcano Landform
Cluster

Volcano Types
Fissure vent(s)
Pyroclastic cone(s)

Rock Types

Major
Basalt / Picro-Basalt

Minor
Dacite

Tectonic Setting

Subduction zone
Continental crust (> 25 km)

Population

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

105,952
137,880
678,798
2,722,372

Geological Summary

The Granada lineament, also known as the La Joya alignment, is an arcuate fissure extending from about 2 km SE of the Apoyo caldera rim around to N of the city of Granada. Small cinder cones are present about 8 km NNW from the Mombacho summit, and the N-S oriented La Joya maar explosion crater chain stretches over 1 km just SW of Granada city. This feature is structurally distinct from the Apoyo caldera and is analogous to the Nejapa-Miraflores alignment north of Masaya volcano. The lineament, characterized by the eruption of basaltic lavas and tephras compositionally similar to mid-ocean ridge basalts, originated about 12,000 years ago, and the latest eruptions may have occurred as recently as about 2,000 years ago.

References

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

Navarro M, 1998. (pers. comm.).

Sussman D, 1985. Apoyo Caldera, Nicaragua: a major Quaternary silicic eruptive center. J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res., 24: 249-282.

van Wyk de Vries B, 1993. Tectonics and magma evolution of Nicaraguan volcanic systems. Unpublished PhD thesis, Open Univ, Milton Keynes, 328 p.

Walker J A, 1984. Volcanic rocks from the Nejapa and Granada cinder cone alignments, Nicaragua, Central America. J Petr, 25: 299-342.

Eruptive History

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

Emission History

There is no Emissions History data available for Granada.

Photo Gallery

A quarry exposes bedded oxidized scoria layers in a cinder cone of the fissure-fed Granada alignment. The cone was constructed along a semi-arcuate, N-S-trending fracture located between the city of Granada and the northern flanks of Mombacho volcano, east of the rim of Apoyo caldera. The lineament is also known as the La Joya alignment, after the explosion craters located SW of Granada. The alignment originated about 12,000 years ago, and its latest eruptions may have occurred as recently as about 2000 years ago.

Photo by Lee Siebert, 1998 (Smithsonian Institution).

Two major scarps cutting Mombacho volcano (left-center) were the sources of major debris avalanches. The arcuate peninsula and island chain extending into Lake Nicaragua (known as Las Isletas or Isletas de Granada) was produced by collapse of Mombacho to the NE. The island at the right is Zapatera, a small shield volcano and maar complex. The lake at the far left fills late-Pleistocene Apoyo caldera, and the roughly N-S-trending Granada cinder cone alignment lies NNW of Mombacho and east of Lake Apoyo in this NASA Space Shuttle image (with north to the upper left).

NASA Space Shuttle image STS081-742-25, 1997 (http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/).

The Granada volcanic complex contains maars and scoria cones, with some shown in this February 2020 Planet Labs satellite image monthly mosaic (N is at the top; this image is approximately 9 km across). Near the center of this image is the N-S trending La Joya maar chain. SW of that are several scoria cones, one with a preserved crater and one with a quarry next to the road.

Satellite image courtesy of Planet Labs Inc., 2020 (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 Granada 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 Granada. 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 Granada. 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 Granada

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).