Central American Volcanic Belt
Encyclopedia
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
, El Salvador
El Salvador
El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
, Honduras
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
, Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
, Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
and down to northern Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
. This volcanic arc
Volcanic arc
A volcanic arc is a chain of volcanoes positioned in an arc shape as seen from above. Offshore volcanoes form islands, resulting in a volcanic island arc. Generally they result from the subduction of an oceanic tectonic plate under another tectonic plate, and often parallel an oceanic trench...
, which has a length of 1500 km, is formed by an active subduction zone along the western boundary of the Caribbean Plate
Caribbean Plate
The Caribbean Plate is a mostly oceanic tectonic plate underlying Central America and the Caribbean Sea off the north coast of South America....
.
The Central America Volcanic Arc includes hundreds of volcanic formations, ranging from major stratovolcanoes, to lava dome
Lava dome
|250px|thumb|right|Image of the [[rhyolitic]] lava dome of [[Chaitén Volcano]] during its 2008–2009 eruption.In volcanology, a lava dome is a roughly circular mound-shaped protrusion resulting from the slow extrusion of viscous lava from a volcano...
s and cinder cone
Cinder cone
According to the , Cinder Cone is the proper name of 1 cinder cone in Canada and 7 cinder cones in the United States:In Canada: Cinder Cone In the United States:...
s. Some of these have produced large explosive eruptions, like the colossal VEI 6 eruption of the Santa Maria volcano in 1902.
Central America's highest volcanoes are found in Guatemala and include the Tajumulco
Tajumulco
Tajumulco is a municipality in the San Marcos department of Guatemala....
and Tacaná
Tacaná
Tacaná is a municipality in the Guatemalan department of San Marcos....
, both above 4,000 meters.
Several volcanoes in Central America are currently active, including Arenal
Arenal Volcano
Arenal Volcano, in Spanish , is an active andesitic stratovolcano in north-western Costa Rica around 90 km northwest of San José, in the province of Alajuela, canton of San Carlos, and district of La Fortuna....
, Turrialba
Turrialba Volcano
Turrialba Volcano was named after the region of Costa Rica in which the volcano is situated in Turrialba County, Cartago of Costa Rica. There is no clear consensus on the origin of the name Turrialba, but historians disagree with attempts to attribute the name to the patronym Torrealba or from...
, Irazú, Poás in Costa Rica; Cerro Negro
Cerro Negro
Cerro Negro is a volcano in the Cordillera de los Maribios mountain range in Nicaragua, about 10 km from the village of Malpaisillo. It is a very new volcano, the youngest in Central America, having first appeared in April 1850...
, San Cristóbal
San Cristóbal volcano
Volcán San Cristóbal is the highest volcano in Nicaragua at . Located near to the northwest corner of the country, it forms a majestic backdrop to the city of Chichigalpa, Chinandega. It is also among the most active volcanos in Nicaragua, erupting frequently .San Cristóbal is part of a 5-member...
, Concepción
Concepción (volcano)
Concepción is one of two volcanoes that form the island of Ometepe, which is situated in Lake Nicaragua in Nicaragua, Central America....
in Nicaragua; San Miguel
San Miguel (volcano)
San Miguel is a stratovolcano in central-eastern El Salvador. It is situated about 15 km southwest of the city of San Miguel. It is one of the most active volcanoes in this country.- References :*...
, Santa Ana
Santa Ana Volcano
The Santa Ana Volcano or Ilamatepec is a large stratovolcano located in the Santa Ana department of El Salvador. At 2,381 metres above sea level, it is the highest volcano in the country. It is located immediately west of Coatepeque Caldera....
, Izalco
Izalco (volcano)
Izalco is a stratovolcano on the side of the Santa Ana Volcano, which is located in western El Salvador. It is situated on the southern flank of the Santa Ana volcano. Izalco erupted almost continuously from 1770 to 1958 earning it the nickname of "Lighthouse of the Pacific", and experienced a...
in El Salvador; Santa Maria/Santiaguito, Pacaya
Pacaya
Pacaya is an active complex volcano in Guatemala, which first erupted approximately 23,000 years ago and has erupted at least 23 times since the Spanish conquest of Guatemala. Pacaya rises to an elevation of . After being dormant for a century, it erupted violently in 1965 and has been...
, Fuego
Volcán de Fuego
Volcán de Fuego is an active stratovolcano in Guatemala. It is close to the city of Antigua Guatemala. It has erupted frequently since the Spanish conquest. "Fuego" is famous for being almost constantly active at a low level. Smoke issues from its top daily, but larger eruptions are rare. On...
in Guatemala.