Apaneca Range Volcano
Updated: Apr 24, 2024 17:22 GMT -
stratovolcanoes 2036 m / 6,680 ft
El Salvador, 13.89°N / -89.79°W
Current status: normal or dormant (1 out of 5)
El Salvador, 13.89°N / -89.79°W
Current status: normal or dormant (1 out of 5)
Apaneca Range (Cuyanausul Range) is a group of E-W trending stratovolcanoes and geothermal areas located in western El Salvador, between the Santa Ana complex and the Guatemala border, about 6 km SE of Ahuachapin town. The volcanoes are basaltic-to-andesitic and Pleistocene and Holocene in age.
[smaller] [larger]
Apaneca Range volcano eruptions: unknown, less than 10,000 years ago
Latest nearby earthquakes
| Time | Mag. / Depth | Distance / Location | |||
| Apr 22, 10:12 pm (El Salvador) | 1.8 114 km | 9.5 km (5.9 mi) to the W |  4 Km al sur de Ahuachapan, El Salvador | Info | |
| Friday, April 19, 2024 GMT (1 quake) | |||||
| Apr 19, 12:22 am (El Salvador) | 1.7 95 km | 21 km (13 mi) to the NW | 14 Km al noroeste de Ahuachapan, El Salvador | Info | |
| Thursday, April 11, 2024 GMT (2 quakes) | |||||
| Apr 11, 03:12 am (El Salvador) | 1.6 6 km | 3.4 km (2.1 mi) to the E | 10 Km al sureste de Ahuachapan, El Salvador | Info | |
| Apr 10, 08:09 pm (El Salvador) | 1.8 1 km | 12 km (7.6 mi) to the N | 13 Km al noreste de Ahuachapan, El Salvador | Info | |
Background
The Apaneca Range starts to the west at the Concepción de Ataco caldera, a dacitic-rhyolitic, 5x3.5 km wide caldera occupied by late-Pleistocene to Holocene post-caldera andesitic-dacitic lava domes and stratovolcanoes. The most prominent of these is the Cerro el Aguila cone (at 2036 m the highest peak of the complex).Other important features of the range include:
Cerro los Naranjos stratovolcano at the eastern end of the chain, probably Holocene in age.
Las Ninfas, a stratovolcano with a 500 x 300 m wide lake-filled crater at the western end of the Apaneca volcanic range.
Laguna Verde, a basaltic stratovolcano with craters that could be less than 10,000 years old.
Ahuachapán geothermal field at the northern end of the range contains numerous fumarole fields and has been producing energy since 1975. Several small hydrothermal explosions have occurred in historical time, including one in October 1990 at the Agua Shuca thermal area in which 26 persons were killed.
Eruptions of Apaneca Range volcano
1990 steam explosion & fatalities
On 13 October 1990, a phreatic steam explosion occurred in the village of El Barro at the Agua Shuca thermal area located on the lower NW flank of the Apaneca Range.
The eruption produced a violent geyser-like fountain, lasting 10-20 minutes, of steam and mud, which killed 26 people and injured several others, and left a 15 m deep crater of 30 m diameter. ...more info
On 13 October 1990, a phreatic steam explosion occurred in the village of El Barro at the Agua Shuca thermal area located on the lower NW flank of the Apaneca Range.
The eruption produced a violent geyser-like fountain, lasting 10-20 minutes, of steam and mud, which killed 26 people and injured several others, and left a 15 m deep crater of 30 m diameter. ...more info
Latest satellite images
