Skip to main content
← Back to map
⇄ Compare

Michoacán-Guanajuato volcanic field

Michoacan-Guanajuato

Volcanic field · Mexico · 3860m

Parícutin, the volcano that grew in a cornfield in 1943, is a well-known feature of the Michoacán-Guanajuato volcanic field. The huge field contains over 1,400 vents covering a wide area across the Michoacán and Guanajuato states. Scoria cones are the predominant volcanic landform, and lava domes, maars, tuff rings, and lava flows are also present. Parícutin is seen here from the NE with the Nueva Juatita flank vent in the foreground, the main source of lava during the last five years of the eruption.
Parícutin, the volcano that grew in a cornfield in 1943, is a well-known feature of the Michoacán-Guanajuato volcanic field. The huge field contains over 1,400 vents covering a wide area across the Michoacán and Guanajuato states. Scoria cones are the predominant volcanic landform, and lava domes, maars, tuff rings, and lava flows are also present. Parícutin is seen here from the NE with the Nueva Juatita flank vent in the foreground, the main source of lava during the last five years of the eruption. · Photo: Photo by Jim Luhr, 1997 (Smithsonian Institution). · Wikimedia Commons
Type
Volcanic field
Country
Mexico
Region
Middle America-Caribbean Volcanic Regions / Trans-Mexican Volcanic Arc
Elevation
3860m
Coordinates
19.850, -101.750
Last eruption
1952
Tectonic setting
Subduction zone / Continental crust (> 25 km)
Landform
Cluster
Major rock type
Andesite / Basaltic Andesite
Geological summary

The widespread Michoacán-Guanajuato volcanic field contains over 1,400 vents, including the historically active cinder cones of Parícutin and Jorullo, covering a 200 x 250 km wide area of Michoacán and Guanajuato states in west-central México. Cinder cones are the predominant volcanic form, but small shield volcanoes, lava domes, maars and tuff rings (many in the Valle de Santiago area), and coneless lava flows are also present. The volcanoes with shield-type morphologies are mostly Pleistocene in age, although the Michoacán-Guanajuato centers have higher slope angles and smaller basal diameters. Jorullo, which was constructed in the 18th century, and Parícutin, which grew above a former cornfield during 1943-52, are the two best known volcanic features scattered throughout the field.

From Wikipedia

The Michoacán–Guanajuato volcanic field is located in the Michoacán and Guanajuato states of central Mexico. It is a volcanic field that takes the form of a large cinder cone field, with numerous shield volcanoes and maars. Pico de Tancítaro is the highest peak.

Wikipedia · CC BY-SA · Read full article →

Eruption history

Summary (VEI over time)
Click a bar to see individual eruptions
7350 BCE~7040 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI 36730 BCE~6421 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI 36111 BCE~5801 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?4252 BCE~3943 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?3013 BCE~2703 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI 32084 BCE~1774 BCE · 2 eruptions · max VEI 31155 BCE~845 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?1014~1323 · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?1633~1943 · 2 eruptions · max VEI 47350 BCE5182 BCE2703 BCE535 BCE1633

Detailed timeline

  1. 1943VEI 4Observed
    1943-02-20 – 1952-02-25
    Parícutin
  2. 1759VEI 4Observed
    1759-09-29 – 1774
    Jorullo
  3. 1050 (±50 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    1050 – Ongoing
    Valle de Santiago
  4. 1140 BCE (±865 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    BCE 1140 – Ongoing
    Cerro el Zoyate
  5. 1880 BCE (±150 yrs)VEI 3Geological estimate
    BCE 1880 – Ongoing
    Cerro el Jabalí
  6. 2050 BCEVEI ?Geological estimate
    BCE 2050 – Ongoing
    Valle de Santiago (La Alberca)
  7. 2750 BCE (±200 yrs)VEI 3Geological estimate
    BCE 2750 – Ongoing
    Cerro el Metate
  8. 4140 BCE (±300 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    BCE 4140 – Ongoing
    Cerro la Tinaja
  9. 5940 BCE (±335 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    BCE 5940 – Ongoing
    Cerro Grande?
  10. 6480 BCE (±300 yrs)VEI 3Geological estimate
    BCE 6480 – Ongoing
    Cerro la Taza
  11. 7350 BCE (±300 yrs)VEI 3Geological estimate
    BCE 7350 – Ongoing
    Hoyo el Huanillo

External links

⚠ For reference only. Not for emergency response.