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San Miguel

Stratovolcano · El Salvador · 2130m

Symmetrical San Miguel volcano towers 2000 m above a barren basaltic lava flow erupted from a SE-flank vent in 1819. The conical volcano is not the highest volcano in El Salvador, but is one of the most prominent, since it rises from near sea level on the Pacific coastal plain. San Miguel (also known as Chaparrastique) is one of the most active volcanoes of El Salvador, with more than two dozen eruptions recorded since the beginning of the Spanish era.
Symmetrical San Miguel volcano towers 2000 m above a barren basaltic lava flow erupted from a SE-flank vent in 1819. The conical volcano is not the highest volcano in El Salvador, but is one of the most prominent, since it rises from near sea level on the Pacific coastal plain. San Miguel (also known as Chaparrastique) is one of the most active volcanoes of El Salvador, with more than two dozen eruptions recorded since the beginning of the Spanish era. · Photo: Photo by Carlos Pullinger, 1996 (Servicio Nacional de Estudios Territoriales, El Salvador). · Wikimedia Commons
Type
Stratovolcano
Country
El Salvador
Region
Middle America-Caribbean Volcanic Regions / Central America Volcanic Arc
Elevation
2130m
Coordinates
13.434, -88.269
Last eruption
2023
Tectonic setting
Subduction zone / Continental crust (> 25 km)
Landform
Composite
Major rock type
Andesite / Basaltic Andesite
Geological summary

The symmetrical cone of San Miguel, one of the most active volcanoes in El Salvador, rises from near sea level to form one of the country's most prominent landmarks. A broad, deep, crater complex that has been frequently modified by eruptions recorded since the early 16th century caps the truncated unvegetated summit, also known locally as Chaparrastique. Flanks eruptions of the basaltic-andesitic volcano have produced many lava flows, including several during the 17th-19th centuries that extended to the N, NE, and SE. The SE-flank flows are the largest and form broad, sparsely vegetated lava fields crossed by highways and a railroad skirting the base of the volcano. Flank vent locations have migrated higher on the edifice during historical time, and the most recent activity has consisted of minor ash eruptions from the summit crater.

From Wikipedia

San Miguel is a stratovolcano in central-eastern El Salvador, approximately 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) southwest of the city of San Miguel. On January 16, 2002, a minor eruption of steam, gas, and ash occurred from the summit crater, lasting 3 hours but causing no real damage to life or property. Carbon dioxide emissions had been monitored since November 2001, and their steady increase continued to build up until the eruption.

Wikipedia · CC BY-SA · Read full article →

Eruption history

Summary (VEI over time)
Click a bar to see individual eruptions
1510~1561 · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?1664~1715 · 1 eruptions · max VEI 21715~1766 · 1 eruptions · max VEI 21766~1817 · 4 eruptions · max VEI 21817~1868 · 7 eruptions · max VEI 21868~1920 · 4 eruptions · max VEI 21920~1971 · 13 eruptions · max VEI 21971~2022 · 14 eruptions · max VEI 315101612176618681971

Detailed timeline

  1. 2022VEI 2Observed
    2022-11-15 – 2023-05-27
  2. 2020VEI 1Observed
    2020-02-22 – 2020-02-22
  3. 2018VEI 1Observed
    2018-01-14 – 2018-03-04
    Summit crater
  4. 2017VEI 1Observed
    2017-01-07 – 2017-01-07
    Summit crater
  5. 2016VEI 1Observed
    2016-01-12 – 2016-01-18
    Summit crater
  6. 2016VEI 1Observed
    2016-06-18 – 2016-06-18
    Summit crater
  7. 2015VEI 1Observed
    2015-08-13 – 2015-08-13
    Summit crater
  8. 2015VEI 1Observed
    2015-01-26 – 2015-04-11
    Summit crater
  9. 2013VEI 3Observed
    2013-12-29 – 2014-07-28
    Summit Crater
  10. 2002VEI 1Observed
    2002-01-16 – 2002-01-16
  11. 1997VEI 1Observed
    1997-12-31 – Ongoing
  12. 1995VEI 1Observed
    1995-01-12 – 1995-04-19
  13. 1985VEI 1Observed
    1985-11-16 – 1986-02-16
  14. 1976VEI 1Observed
    1976-12-02 – 1977-03-01
  15. 1970VEI 1Observed
    1970-03-30 – 1970-04-05
  16. 1967VEI 2Observed
    1967-01-05 – Ongoing
  17. 1966VEI 2Observed
    1966-02-22 – Ongoing
  18. 1966VEI 2Observed
    1966-07-16 – Ongoing
  19. 1965VEI 2Observed
    1965-06-14 – Ongoing
    Summit crater
  20. 1964VEI 2Observed
    1964-10-23 – 1964-11-16
  21. 1954VEI 2Observed
    1954-10-21 – 1954-10-21
  22. 1939VEI 2Observed
    1939-05 – 1939-07
  23. 1936VEI 2Geological estimate
    1936 – Ongoing
  24. 1931VEI 2Observed
    1931-03 – 1931-06
  25. 1930VEI 2Observed
    1930-01-26 – Ongoing
  26. 1929VEI 2Observed
    1929-08 – Ongoing
  27. 1920VEI 2Observed
    1920-08-14 – 1925
  28. 1919VEI 2Observed
    1919-12-10 – 1920-01
  29. 1890VEI 2Observed
    1890 – 1891
  30. 1884VEI 2Observed
    1884-01-25 – 1884-01-28
    NE side of main crater
  31. 1882VEI 2Observed
    1882-12-05 – Ongoing
  32. 1867VEI 2Observed
    1867-12-14 – 1868-02-16
    WSW flank (1000 m)
  33. 1862VEI 2Observed
    1862-01 – Ongoing
  34. 1857VEI 2Observed
    1857-11 – Ongoing
  35. 1855VEI 2Observed
    1855-12 – Ongoing
    SSE flank (800 m)
  36. 1854VEI 2Geological estimate
    1854 – Ongoing
  37. 1844VEI 2Observed
    1844-07-25 – 1848
    NNW (1120 m) and upper east flanks
  38. 1819VEI 2Observed
    1819-07-18 – Ongoing
    SSE flank (400 m; near Los Perolitos)
  39. 1811VEI 2Geological estimate
    1811 – Ongoing
  40. 1798VEI 2Geological estimate
    1798 – Ongoing
  41. 1787VEI 2Observed
    1787-09-21 – 1787-09-23
    Summit, north and SE flanks
  42. 1769VEI 2Observed
    1769 – Ongoing
    East flank ?
  43. 1762VEI 2Observed
    1762 – Ongoing
    NE flank (400 m)
  44. 1699VEI 2Observed
    1699 – Ongoing
    SE flank (400 m)
  45. 1510 (±5 yrs)VEI ?Observed
    1510 – Ongoing

External links

⚠ For reference only. Not for emergency response.