Tolima, Nevado del (Colombia)

Status Unknown Eruption 1943 5215m
Stratovolcano (Subduction zone / Continental crust (> 25 km))

Tolima, Nevado del

The steep-sided, glacier-clad Nevado del Tolima volcano contrasts with the broad profile of Nevado del Ruiz to the north. The andesitic-dacitic younger Tolima formed during the past 40,000 years, rising above and largely obscuring a 3-km-wide late-Pleistocene caldera. The summit consists of a cluster of late-Pleistocene to Holocene lava domes that were associated with thick block-lava flows on the N and E flanks, and extensive pyroclastic-flow deposits. The summit contains a funnel-shaped crater 200-300 m deep. Holocene activity has included explosive eruptions ranging in size from moderate to plinian. The last major eruption took place about 3600 years ago. Lava dome growth has produced block-and-ash flows that traveled primarily to the NE and SE. Minor explosive eruptions have been recorded in the 19th and 20th centuries.

The steep-sided, glacier-clad Tolima volcano is seen here from the slopes of Nevado del Ruiz volcano to the north. The summit of Tolima consists of a cluster of late-Pleistocene to Holocene lava domes and contains a funnel-shaped crater 200-300 m deep. Holocene activity has ranged from moderate explosions to plinian eruptions. The last major eruption took place about 3600 years ago. Minor explosive eruptions took place in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Photo by Tom Pierson, 1985 (U.S. Geological Survey).

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

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