Pacaya Volcano
Written by Fraser Cain
Pacaya eruption in 1976.
Pacaya is an active complex basaltic volcano in Guatemala, located about 25-30 km south of Guatemala City. It's a popular tourist destination because it's quick to get to from both Guatemala City and Antigua. The volcano stands at an elevation of 2,552 meters, and is easily visible from the city.
The volcano is part of a chain of volcanoes that stretch along the Pacific coast of Guatemala. The volcanoes formed because of the subduction of the Cocos Plate underneath the Caribbean Plate. Geologists have traced back at least 9 large explosions from the central caldera over the last 300,000 years, blasting out a total of 70 cubic kilometers of lava. It's most recent phase of activity began in 1965, and the volcano has been almost continuously active since then.
In the last few decades, activity on Pacaya has been mostly strombolian eruptions. This type of eruption, named after Mount Stromboli in Italy, has blobs of lava and hot rocks ejected from the central cone in short arcs. They're relatively safe to watch, as long as you don't get too close, and are best seen at night when the fiery arcs are visible in the sky.
The region is now protected within Pacaya National Park, which manages tourism and charges entrants a small fee to visit the park. Pacaya is the most frequently climbed volcano in Guatemala, as it's relatively accessible and can put on a good show for visitors.
We have written many articles about volcanoes for Universe Today. Here's an article about Fuego, another volcano in Guatemala, and here's a list of famous volcanoes.
Want more resources on the Earth? Here's a link to NASA's Human Spaceflight page, and here's NASA's Visible Earth.
We have also recorded an episode of Astronomy Cast about Earth, as part of our tour through the Solar System – Episode 51: Earth.
Filed under: Astronomy
