SantaMaria



Location: 14.8N, 91.5W, Guatemala

Elevation: 12,372 feet (3,772 m)

Range: Sierra Madre

Type: Strato volcano



Guatemala is situated in the Central America region of North America. Santa Maria is a large active volcano in the Western Highlands of Guatemala, close to the city of Quetzaltenango. Its eruption in 1902 was the second-largest eruption of the 20th century. Santa Maria is a stratovolcano made of basaltic andesite. Thevolcano is characterized by a steep profile and periodic, explosive eruptions.



In 1922, a new volcanic vent formed in its enormous crater, and formed a new volcano, named Santiaguito. Santiaguito has been erupting ever since and now forms a cone a few hundred metres tall, reaching an elevation of about 2,500 m.



Today, it is possible to climb to the top of Santamaria and look down on the ongoing eruptions at Santiaguito, 1,200m below, a situation which may be unique in the world. So take this chance to go view this active volcano. Explosions at Santa Maria’s Santiaguito lava-dome complex on 9 and 10 August produced gas-and-steam plumes with little-to-no ash content. These plumes reached heights of ~1.5 km above the summit (~17,300 ft a.s.l.) and drifted SW making a spectacular sight.



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Via: Wikipedia