Mombacho (Nicaragua)

Status Normal Eruption Unknown 1344m
Stratovolcano (Subduction zone / Continental crust (> 25 km))

Mombacho is an andesitic and basaltic stratovolcano on the shores of Lake Nicaragua south of the city of Granada that has undergone edifice collapse on several occasions. Two large horseshoe-shaped craters formed by edifice failure cut the summit on the NE and S flanks. The NE-flank scarp was the source of a large debris avalanche that produced an arcuate peninsula and a cluster of small islands (Las Isletas) in Lake Nicaragua. Two small, well-preserved cinder cones are located on the volcano's lower N flank. The only reported historical activity was in 1570, when a debris avalanche destroyed a village on the south side of the volcano. Although there were contemporary reports of an explosion, there is no direct evidence that the avalanche was accompanied by an eruption. Fumarolic fields and hot springs are found within the two collapse scarps and on the upper N flank.

Mombacho is a stratovolcano on the shores of Lake Nicaragua that has undergone edifice collapse on several occasions. Two horseshoe-shaped craters cut the summit on the NE and south flanks, modifying the profile of the volcano. The NE-flank scarp, whose NE wall forms the left skyline, was the source of a large debris avalanche that produced an arcuate peninsula and the Las Isletas chain of islands in Lake Nicaragua. The only reported historical activity was in 1570, when a debris avalanche destroyed a village on the south side of the volcano.

Photo by Jaime Incer, 1977.

Last updated 2019-08-04 00:28:03