|
|
Country: | Guatemala | |
| Subregion Name: | Guatemala | ||
| Volcano Number: | 1402-03= | ||
| Volcano Type: | Stratovolcano | ||
| Volcano Status: | Historical | ||
| Last Known Eruption: | 2008 (in or after) | ||
| Summit Elevation: | 3772 m | 12,375 feet | |
| Latitude: | 14.756°N | 14°45'21"N | |
| Longitude: | 91.552°W | 91°33'6"W | |
| Symmetrical, forest-covered Santa María volcano is one of the most prominent of a chain of large stratovolcanoes that rises dramatically above the Pacific coastal plain of Guatemala. The 3772-m-high stratovolcano has a sharp-topped, conical profile that is cut on the SW flank by a large, 1.5-km-wide crater. The oval-shaped crater extends from just below the summit of Volcán Santa María to the lower flank and was formed during a catastrophic eruption in 1902. The renowned plinian eruption of 1902 that devastated much of SW Guatemala followed a long repose period after construction of the large basaltic-andesite stratovolcano. The massive dacitic Santiaguito lava-dome complex has been growing at the base of the 1902 crater since 1922. Compound dome growth at Santiaguito has occurred episodically from four westward-younging vents, the most recent of which is Caliente. Dome growth has been accompanied by almost continuous minor explosions, with periodic lava extrusion, larger explosions, pyroclastic flows, and lahars. | |||
