El Chichón
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| El Chichón | |
|---|---|
| Elevation | ~ 1,205 m (3,953.4120734908000 ft) |
| Location | Chiapas, Mexico |
| Coordinates | |
| Type | Lava domes |
| Age of rock | 220,000 yr |
| Last eruption | 1982 |
El Chichón is an active volcano in northwestern Chiapas, Mexico. Its only recorded eruptive activity were on March 29th, April 3rd and April 4th, 1982 [1], when it produced a one km-wide caldera that then filled with an acidic crater lake. The eruption killed around 2,000 people who lived near the volcano. It had high-sulphur anhydrite-bearing magma, explosive eruptions, pyroclastic flows, and surges that were devastating.
In 2000, the lake's water temperature increased. Also, the lake acquired a blue-green color, due to massive amounts of dissolved minerals in the acidic water, and fine, light-colored ashy sediment continually stirred up by boiling areas.
El Chichon is part of a geologic zone known as the Chiapanecan Volcanic Arc. This volcanic region is thought to be the result of the subduction of the Tehuantepec Ridge, an undersea ridge which lies on the Cocos Plate off the Pacific coast of Mexico. [2]
[edit] References
- ^ Alan Robock (2002). Volcanic Eruption, El Chichón (PDF). Retrieved on 2008-05-20.
- ^ Vlad C. Manea and Marina Manea (2005). The origin of modern chaipanecan volcanic arc in southern mexico inferred from thermal models (PDF). Retrieved on 2008-05-20.
[edit] External links
- El Chichon eruption - April 1982, Mexico (inTERRAgate)
- Volcanic Eruption, El Chichon (Rutgers Environmental Science) (PDF format)
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