Skip to main content

Nevado del Tolima

Tolima, Nevado del

Stratovolcano · Colombia · 5215m

Glaciated Tolima volcano is seen here looking south from the flank of Nevado del Ruiz. The summit consists of late-Pleistocene to Holocene lava domes and contains a crater 200-300 m deep. Holocene activity has ranged from moderate explosions to Plinian eruptions. A recent major eruption took place about 3,600 years ago and minor explosive eruptions took place in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Glaciated Tolima volcano is seen here looking south from the flank of Nevado del Ruiz. The summit consists of late-Pleistocene to Holocene lava domes and contains a crater 200-300 m deep. Holocene activity has ranged from moderate explosions to Plinian eruptions. A recent major eruption took place about 3,600 years ago and minor explosive eruptions took place in the 19th and 20th centuries. · Photo: Photo by Tom Pierson, 1985 (U.S. Geological Survey). · Wikimedia Commons
Type
Stratovolcano
Country
Colombia
Region
South America Volcanic Regions / Northern Andean Volcanic Arc
Elevation
5215m
Coordinates
4.658, -75.330
Last eruption
1943
Tectonic setting
Subduction zone / Continental crust (> 25 km)
Landform
Composite
Major rock type
Andesite / Basaltic Andesite
Geological summary

The steep-sided, glacier-covered Nevado del Tolima volcano contrasts with the broad profile of Nevado del Ruiz to the north. The andesitic-dacitic younger Tolima formed during the past 40,000 years, rising above and largely obscuring a 3-km-wide late-Pleistocene caldera. The summit consists of a cluster of late-Pleistocene to Holocene lava domes associated with thick block-lava flows on the N and E flanks, and extensive pyroclastic-flow deposits. The summit contains a funnel-shaped crater 200-300 m deep. Holocene activity has included explosive eruptions ranging in size from moderate to Plinian, and the last major eruption took place about 3,600 years ago. Lava dome growth has produced block-and-ash flows that traveled primarily to the NE and SE. Minor explosive eruptions have been recorded in the 19th and 20th centuries.

From Wikipedia

The Nevado del Tolima is a Late Pleistocene to recently active andesitic stratovolcano located in the Tolima department, Colombia. The volcano lies south of Nevado del Ruiz volcano and is situated within the Los Nevados National Natural Park. The volcano, whose most recent activity dates to 1943 and last major eruption around 3600 years ago, overlies the Eocene El Bosque Batholith, dated at 49.1 ± 1.7 Ma.

Wikipedia · CC BY-SA · Read full article

Eruption history

Summary (VEI over time)
Click a bar to see individual eruptions
7800 BCE~7475 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI 45527 BCE~5202 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?5202 BCE~4877 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?3578 BCE~3253 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?2279 BCE~1954 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI 5655 BCE~330 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI 3330 BCE~6 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI 36 BCE~319 · 1 eruptions · max VEI 31618~1943 · 4 eruptions · max VEI 27800 BCE5527 BCE2928 BCE655 BCE1618

Detailed timeline

  1. 1943VEI 2Observed
    1943-03 – Ongoing
  2. 1826VEI 2Observed
    1826-05 – 1826-06-17
  3. 1825VEI 2Observed
    1825-03-02 – Ongoing
  4. 1822VEI 2Observed
    1822-11 – Ongoing
  5. 260 (±150 yrs)VEI 3Geological estimate
    260 – Ongoing
  6. 200 BCE (±200 yrs)VEI 3Geological estimate
    BCE 200 – Ongoing
  7. 610 BCE (±200 yrs)VEI 3Geological estimate
    BCE 610 – Ongoing
  8. 1990 BCE (±200 yrs)VEI 5Geological estimate
    BCE 1990 – Ongoing
  9. 3500 BCE (±300 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    BCE 3500 – Ongoing
  10. 5160 BCE (±200 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    BCE 5160 – Ongoing
  11. 5310 BCE (±100 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    BCE 5310 – Ongoing
  12. 7800 BCE (±300 yrs)VEI 4Geological estimate
    BCE 7800 – Ongoing

External links

⚠ For reference only. Not for emergency response.