How often does El Chichón erupt?
El Chichón volcano has produced at least 12 major volcanic eruptions during the past 8000 years. The volcano displays a recurrence interval of 300 years on average, with a range from a minimum of 100 yr to a maximum of 600 yr.
What type of volcano is Chichon?
“Violent eruptions of the stratovolcano El Chichón destroyed its summit dome and formed a 1-km-wide crater.
When was Chichon formed?
1982
This is a view of the El Chichon caldera, formed during the very explosive eruptions of late March and early April of 1982. The caldera is about a kilometer wide and a few hundred meters deep. Prior to the 1982 eruptions the summit of the volcano consisted of a large lava dome within a shallow caldera.
How many people died from El Chichón?
2000 deaths
The entire eruption lasted about a week and produced about 2000 deaths, the displacement of about 20,000 people, and severe economic loss, not only in the proximal areas (<10 km) but also in the distal areas from the heavy ash falls.
Is El Chichón in the Ring of Fire?
Mexico’s volcanoes are part of the Pacific Ring of Fire. They have formed on the North American continental tectonic plate. The most active are Popocatepetl and Colima. El Chichon erupted in 1982, now dormant, that cooled the world’s climate the following year!
How did El Chichón affect the environment?
El Chichón became famous for its large eruption in 1982 that affected the world’s climate for the following years with a measurable cooling effect caused by the large amounts of SO2 aerosols ejected into the atmosphere.
When did Chichon last erupt?
El Chichón became famous for its 1982 eruption. In little under a week, the presumed dormant volcano produced three plinian eruptions (March 29, April 3, and April 4)….
| El Chichón | |
|---|---|
| Age of rock | 220,000 yr |
| Mountain type | Lava domes |
| Volcanic arc/belt | Chiapanecan Volcanic Arc |
| Last eruption | March to September 1982 |
How did El Chichon affect the environment?
Is El Chichon in the Ring of Fire?
Is El Chichon a shield volcano?
Type of Volcano These types are composite volcanoes, cinder cone volcanoes/ ash cinder volcano, shield volcanoes, lava domes/ domes, fissure volcano, and caldera volcanoes. El Chichon volcano is a lava-dome volcano.
Why did the El Chichon volcano erupt?
The powerful 1982 explosive eruptions of high-sulfur, anhydrite-bearing magma destroyed the summit lava dome and were accompanied by pyroclastic flows and surges that devastated an area extending about 8 km around the volcano.
Is El Chichon on a hot spot?
El Chichon is located on a convergent plate boundary, also know as a destructive plate boundary. El Chichon is not a hot spot or on a diverging plate boundary.
How tall is El Chichon volcano in Mexico?
Background Facts. El Chichon is the most southern and Eastern volcano in Mexico, and is about 3,721 ft. high. It is a strato volcano. There are many domes in the volcano, but the largest dome, is within a 1.6 x 2 kilometer summit crater, created about 220,000 years ago. The way El Chichon affected the atmosphere was still seen about 22 months…
Why was the eruption of El Chichon important?
El Chichón is often overlooked in comparison to other historic eruptions, yet the 1982 eruptions provide important lessons on preparation for volcanic disasters and the influence volcanoes can have on climate. The 1982 eruption of El Chichón is the largest volcanic disaster in modern Mexican history.
What is the optical depth of El Chichon?
For the El Chichón cloud, the optical depth has been measured to be around 0.3 around mid-visible wavelengths. The imaginary part of the refractive index, describing the attenuation of radiation for the 80 km sample, varies between 0.004 at 300 nm and 0.001 at 700 nm.
Where does the water from El Chichon come from?
Two rivers collect water from El Chichon: the Platanar river from the NE flank of the volcano and the Susnubac– Magdalena river from the SW flank. Both are tributaries of the Grijalva river which flows towards the Gulf of Mexico. In hindsight, the activity had started in 1930 when locals reported hearing sounds from the mountain.