Central American Volcanoes

Puffy Planets: Editor- Chase Historian- Caroline Human Interest- Abrielle Reporter- Riley

Volcano of the Day

The Central American Volcanic Arc (often abbreviated to CAVA) is a chain of volcanoes which extends parallel to the Pacific coast line of the Central American Isthmus, from Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and down to northern Panama.Several volcanoes in Central America are currently active, including Arenal, Turrialba, Irazú, Poás in Costa Rica; Cerro Negro, San Cristóbal, Concepción in Nicaragua; Chaparrastique or San Miguel, Ilamatepec or Santa Ana, Izalco in El Salvador; Santa María/Santiaguito, Pacaya, Fuego in Guatemala. The CAVA includes hundreds of volcanic formations, ranging from major stratovolcanoes, to lava domes, and cinder cones. These towering mountains rise as high as 14,000 feet. The highest mountain is Guatemala. On each side of these highlands exists on along Atlantic and Pacific coasts.

Fuego- 3/16-3/21 Picture taken by Lee Siebert in 1988

Located at 14°N , 91°W in Guatemala, it’s type is Stratovolcano. Its summit is 3,763 meters and its elevation is 12,343 feet. Last week from the sixteenth to the twenty-first Fuego was reported to have spewed ash clouds that rose 950 meters above the crated mouth and the clouds drifted west, south-west, and south. There were reports of ashfall is several areas including Santa Sofía, twelve kilometers southwest of the volcano. Shock waves and rumblings were heard and felt. Incredibly hot material was ejected from the crater as high as 200 meters above the rim of the crater.

Guatemala is home to 18 volcanoes. 14 of which are dormant, 3 are currently active spewing lava and ash, and one is dormant. The volcano Cuilapa-Barberena is extinct resting ar 14.33°N 90.4°W. The last known eruption was a few thousand years ago based on scientific findings. Currently there are 3 active volcanoes, Fuego, Pacaya, and Santiaguito. Pacaya is close to Guatemala city and is one of the most active volcanoes with more than 86 eruptions in the last 17 years. In 2013, there was almost at least one eruption every month. Guatemala is a very lively island of spewing lava and ash.

Human Interest:

How Fuego in Guatemala affects the people around it:

Volcanoes sometimes do not have negative effects, but many times volcanoes do have bad effects. When they erupt everything nearby and around them can be completely covered in ash. The volcano can also destroy houses and towns.  Volcanoes can at times be an extreme devastation for the population surrounding it. Sometimes, volcanoes are just little, not always a huge deal. They will just erupt a little, causing no harm or damage. When they are destructive they are a big problem and can be so harmful that they can kill people or completely ruin their homes and towns. In conclusion, there is a variety of types of volcanoes, some destructive, some not.