Currently I
am camping between four volcanoes; Agua, Fuego, Acatenango and the most active
one Pacaya. Pacaya is one of the world's most active volcanoes. It lies
approximately 25 km (15 miles) south of Guatemala City. It is at 14.38 N, 90.60
W with a summit elevation at 2552 m (8506 feet).
The last
time it actually erupted was back in May 2010 when the Guatemala's President
declared a state of "calamity" in two provinces and opened emergency
shelters to take over 1,700 residents who were evacuated. More than 65 people
injured some people are missing, and hundreds of houses damaged by the explosion
which hurled stones and ash over a wide area. Before that, in February the same
year lava flows from Pacaya volcano descended 100-400 m down the E and NE
flanks.
There
are two daily tours out of La Antigua one early morning, the one I took (recommended
during the rainy season) and one at 2pm that last into the night. After driving
up the volcano and parking at the entrance to the park, we met up with our guide
four horses and riders that went with us, just in case any hiker wanted to
change their minds and ride up. I was the only one in our group of 14 that half
way up decided to go with a horse. I am glad I did, it is an exceedingly steep
climb, and lava rock can be particularly slippery. Our group was not able to go
to the mouth of the volcano and look inside because its current activity. 
Volcanoes are the most powerful natural phenomenon
on earth, and they offer dynamic and varied landforms. There are about 20
volcanoes erupting on the earth on any given day.
The
Sierra Madre stretches from the Mexican border south to Guatemala. The mountain
chain contains steep volcanic cones, including Tajumulco Volcano 4,220 m
(13,926 feet), the highest point in Central America. Guatemala has 24 volcanoes
along the Pacific coastline; five of them are right around Guatemala City.
Pacaya Volcano Eruptions History
2013,
1961-2010, 1885, 1846, 1830, 1805, 1775, 1760, 1717, 1699, 1693, 1690, 1687,
1678, 1671, 1674, 1671, 1668-69, 1664, 1655, 1651, 1623, 1565.
Information
on the volcanoes was acquired from http://volcanolive.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment