Skip to main content
← Back to map
⇄ Compare

Galeras

Complex volcano · Colombia · 4276m

Galeras, a stratovolcano with a large breached caldera located immediately west of the city of Pasto, is one of Colombia's most frequently active volcanoes. It is seen here from the south on March 17, 1989, with steam clouds pouring from vents on the large central cone near the back headwall of the caldera, whose south rim forms the ridge in the foreground. Major explosive eruptions since the mid Holocene have produced widespread tephra deposits and pyroclastic flows that swept all but the southern flanks.
Galeras, a stratovolcano with a large breached caldera located immediately west of the city of Pasto, is one of Colombia's most frequently active volcanoes. It is seen here from the south on March 17, 1989, with steam clouds pouring from vents on the large central cone near the back headwall of the caldera, whose south rim forms the ridge in the foreground. Major explosive eruptions since the mid Holocene have produced widespread tephra deposits and pyroclastic flows that swept all but the southern flanks. · Photo: Photo by Norm Banks, 1989 (U.S. Geological Survey). · Wikimedia Commons
Type
Complex volcano
Country
Colombia
Region
South America Volcanic Regions / Northern Andean Volcanic Arc
Elevation
4276m
Coordinates
1.220, -77.370
Last eruption
2014
Tectonic setting
Subduction zone / Continental crust (> 25 km)
Landform
Composite
Major rock type
Andesite / Basaltic Andesite
Geological summary

Galeras, a stratovolcano with a large breached caldera located immediately west of the city of Pasto, is one of Colombia's most frequently active volcanoes. The dominantly andesitic complex has been active for more than 1 million years, and two major caldera collapse eruptions took place during the late Pleistocene. Long-term extensive hydrothermal alteration has contributed to large-scale edifice collapse on at least three occasions, producing debris avalanches that swept to the west and left a large open caldera inside which the modern cone has been constructed. Major explosive eruptions since the mid-Holocene have produced widespread tephra deposits and pyroclastic flows that swept all but the southern flanks. A central cone slightly lower than the caldera rim has been the site of numerous small-to-moderate eruptions since the time of the Spanish conquistadors.

From Wikipedia

Galeras is an active stratovolcano in the Colombian department of Nariño, near the departmental capital Pasto. Its summit rises 4,276 metres (14,029 ft) above sea level. It has erupted frequently since the Spanish conquest, with its first historical eruption being recorded on December 7, 1580. A 1993 eruption killed nine people, including six scientists who had descended into the volcano's crater to sample gases and take gravity measurements in an attempt to be able to predict future eruptions. It is currently the most active volcano in Colombia.

Wikipedia · CC BY-SA · Read full article →

Eruption history

Summary (VEI over time)
Click a bar to see individual eruptions
7050 BCE~6748 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?3425 BCE~3123 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI 32821 BCE~2519 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI 21311 BCE~1009 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI 2707 BCE~405 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI 2804~1106 · 1 eruptions · max VEI 21408~1710 · 5 eruptions · max VEI 31710~2012 · 31 eruptions · max VEI 37050 BCE4936 BCE2519 BCE405 BCE1710

Detailed timeline

  1. 2012VEI 2Observed
    2012-05-13 – 2014-01-30
    Summit crater
  2. 2011VEI ?Observed
    2011-03-31 – 2011-04-01
    Summit crater
  3. 2010VEI 1Observed
    2010-08-25 – 2010-08-25
    Central cone
  4. 2008VEI 3Observed
    2008-10-21 – 2010-01-02
  5. 2007VEI 3Observed
    2007-10-04 – 2008-01-17
  6. 2005VEI 2Observed
    2005-11-24 – 2006-07-12
  7. 2004VEI 3Observed
    2004-07-16 – 2005-02-07
    El Pinta vent
  8. 2002VEI 1Observed
    2002-06-07 – 2002-06-07
    El Pinta vent
  9. 2000VEI 1Observed
    2000-03-21 – 2000-05-18
  10. 1993VEI 2Observed
    1993-01-14 – 1993-06-07
    Summit crater, west, SW, & south rims
  11. 1990VEI 2Observed
    1990-01-07 – 1992-07-16
  12. 1989VEI 2Observed
    1989-02-19 – 1989-05-09
    El Pinta vent
  13. 1974VEI 1Observed
    1974-07-02 – 1983-07-02
  14. 1973VEI 2Geological estimate
    1973-05-16 – Ongoing
  15. 1950VEI 2Observed
    1950-01-12 – 1950-09-05
  16. 1947VEI 2Geological estimate
    1947-07-15 – Ongoing
  17. 1936VEI 2Observed
    1936-02-09 – 1936-08-27
  18. 1933VEI ?Geological estimate
    1933 – Ongoing
  19. 1932VEI 2Observed
    1932-10-10 – Ongoing
  20. 1930VEI ?Geological estimate
    1930-04-17 – Ongoing
  21. 1924VEI 3Observed
    1924-10 – 1927
  22. 1923VEI 2Observed
    1923-12-08 – Ongoing
  23. 1891VEI 2Observed
    1891 – Ongoing
  24. 1889VEI 2Observed
    1889-07-03 – Ongoing
  25. 1865VEI 3Observed
    1865-10-02 – 1870
  26. 1836VEI 2Geological estimate
    1836 – Ongoing
  27. 1834VEI 2Observed
    1834 – Ongoing
  28. 1828VEI 3Observed
    1828-10-24 – 1834-03
  29. 1823VEI 2Observed
    1823-06-17 – 1823-06-24
  30. 1796VEI 2Observed
    1796-11 – 1801
  31. 1754VEI 2Observed
    1754 – 1756
  32. 1670VEI 3Observed
    1670 – 1736
  33. 1641VEI 3Observed
    1641 – 1643
  34. 1616VEI 3Observed
    1616-07-04 – 1616-07-04
  35. 1580VEI 3Observed
    1580-12-07 – 1580-12-07
  36. 1535VEI 3Observed
    1535 – Ongoing
  37. 890 (±200 yrs)VEI 2Geological estimate
    890 – Ongoing
  38. 490 BCE (±100 yrs)VEI 2Geological estimate
    BCE 490 – Ongoing
  39. 1160 BCE (±300 yrs)VEI 2Geological estimate
    BCE 1160 – Ongoing
  40. 2580 BCE (±500 yrs)VEI 2Geological estimate
    BCE 2580 – Ongoing
  41. 3150 BCE (±200 yrs)VEI 3Geological estimate
    BCE 3150 – Ongoing
  42. 7050 BCE (±1000 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    BCE 7050 – Ongoing

External links

⚠ For reference only. Not for emergency response.