Pacaya Volcano

Updated: Sep 25, 2025 14:56 GMT - refresh

Complex volcano

Guatemala, 14.38°N / -90.6°W

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Summit height: 2552 m (8,373 ft)

Current status: normal or dormant (1 out of 5)

Last update: 24 Sep 2025 (Smithsonian Daily Volcanic Activity Report)

Pacaya volcano near Guatemala City is one of Guatemala's most active volcanoes, and its frequent eruptions are often visible from Guatemala City. Typical activity in recent years includes strombolian activity, lava flow emission and intermittend violent phases of lava fountaining.

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Typical eruption style: Mildly explosive and effusive (Strombolian activity, lava fountaining, lava flows from the summit crater). Near continuously active the least during the past centuries.
Pacaya volcano eruptions: 1360, 1565, 1623(?), 1651, 1655, 1664, 1668, 1671, 1674, 1677(?), 1678, 1690, 1693, 1699, 1717(?), 1760(?), 1775, 1805, 1830(?), 1846, 1885, 1961, 1965, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980 - May 1998 (intense period of summit activity), 1999-2003, 2004-2010, 2012, 2013, 2014

Latest nearby earthquakes

Date and Time	Mag / Depth	Distance / Location
Sep 22, 06:55 am (GMT -6)	2.9 7 km	21 km (13 mi) to the N	Guatemala I FELT IT - 3 reports	Info
Sunday, September 21, 2025 GMT (1 quake)
Sep 20, 08:35 pm (GMT -6)	2.9 7 km	20 km (13 mi) to the N	Guatemala I FELT IT - 1 report	Info
Monday, September 15, 2025 GMT (1 quake)
Sep 15, 11:15 am (GMT -6)	2.9 1 km	7.7 km (4.8 mi) to the W	Guatemala	Info
Sunday, September 14, 2025 GMT (1 quake)
Sep 14, 05:18 am (Universal Time)	2.1 1 km	10.5 km (6.5 mi) to the W	16 km Al Sur De Antigua Guatemala, Guatemala	Info
Saturday, September 13, 2025 GMT (1 quake)
Sep 13, 07:56 am (Universal Time)	2.4 3 km	13 km (7.8 mi) to the NW	12 km Al Sur De Antigua Guatemala, Guatemala	Info
Friday, September 12, 2025 GMT (1 quake)
Sep 12, 07:24 am (Universal Time)	1.9 4 km	25 km (16 mi) to the E	16 km Al Noroeste De Cuilapa, Guatemala	Info

View recent quakes

Background

Pacaya is a complex basaltic volcano constructed just outside the southern topographic rim of the 14 x 16 km Pleistocene Amatitlán caldera. A cluster of dacitic lava domes occupies the southern caldera floor. The post-caldera Pacaya massif includes the Cerro Grande lava dome and a younger volcano to the SW. Collapse of Pacaya volcano about 1100 years ago produced a debris-avalanche deposit that extends 25 km onto the Pacific coastal plain and left an arcuate somma rim inside which the modern Pacaya volcano (MacKenney cone) grew. A subsidiary crater, Cerro Chino, was constructed on the NW somma rim and was last active in the 19th century.
During the past several decades, activity at Pacaya has consisted of frequent strombolian eruptions with intermittent lava flow extrusion that has partially filled in the caldera moat and armored the flanks of MacKenney cone, punctuated by occasional larger explosive eruptions that partially destroy the summit of the cone.
Source: GVP

Pacaya Volcano Photos

View onto the fast flowing lava (Photo: Tom Pfeiffer)

Lava flow at Pacaya volcano (Photo: Tom Pfeiffer)

The interior of the cooling lava flow is still glowing hot. (Photo: Tom Pfeiffer)

Zoom onto the lava flow at Pacaya volcano (Guatemala) in 2010 (Photo: Tom Pfeiffer)

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Significant volcanic eruptions: Pacaya volcano

In the past 10,000 years, Pacaya has had at least 32 confirmed volcanic eruptions, out of which 28 are documented by historical records, while the others can be inferred from geological evidence.
Additionally, there are 4 uncertain or discredited eruptions from Pacaya volcano.

The table below lists all known eruptions (date in bold face) of Pacaya volcano since around 1700. Updates on the most recent volcanic activity of Pacaya can be found on the news page of Pacaya volcano.

Date	Note	VEI	Deaths	Damage
2015 Jun 7 ±1 d. - 2021 Aug 13	MacKenney Crater Historical obs./docs.	1
2021 Mar (eruption 2015 Jun 7 ±1 d. - 2021 Aug 13)	Historical obs./docs.	1		light	Info
2021 Mar: A new fast-moving flow appeared on the SW flank during the second half of March and rapidly reached 1.5 km in length, flowing NW then SW, ultimately extending over 3 km. It had multiple branches that caused vegetation fires, destroyed significant cropland (avocado and coffee plantations), and crossed roads before stopping in mid-April. (ref #13004) 24 families were impacted/affected and 3.5 hectares (~8.6 acres) of damage to avocado and coffees crops. (ref #13003) Cited references #10953 Siebert, Lee, Tom Simkin, Paul Kimberly (2010): Volcanoes of the World, Third Edition, Geoscience Press, Inc., University of California Press, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., 551 p. #13003 Ministerio de Agricultura, Ganaderia y Alimentacion (Guatemala) (2021): Actualizacion por actividad del volcan de Pacaya. Alertivo No. 14. Published 30 March 2021. Link #13004 Global Volcanism Program (2021): Report on Pacaya (Guatemala) (Crafford, A.E., and Venzke, E., eds.). Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network, 46:6. Smithsonian Institution. Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), Global Significant Earthquake Database. doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K
2014 Aug 25 - 2015 Feb 17	MacKenney Crater Historical obs./docs.	1
2013 Mar 5 - 2014 Apr 10	MacKenney Crater Historical obs./docs.	2
2006 Mar 9 - 2010 Oct 26	MacKenney Cone Historical obs./docs.	3
2010 May 27 (eruptive episode 2010 May 27)	Historical obs./docs.	1	1	light	Info
2010 May 27: Guatemala's Pacaya volcano started erupting lava and rocks Thursday afternoon, blanketing the country's capital with ash and forcing the closure of the international airport. A television reporter was killed by a shower of burning rocks when he got too close to the volcano, about 15 miles (25 kilometers) south of Guatemala City. (reference #9674) Weekly Report 26 May-1 June 2010: INSIVUMEH reported a continuing series of explosions 5-10 seconds apart that ejected black ash up to 1 km above the crater on 28 May... CONRED reported a short time later that about 1,600 people had been evacuated from six towns 3-4 km W, NNW, N, and NNE, and that Aurora International Airport was closed. According to a map posted by CONRED, blocks fell in areas as far away as 12 km NE and ash was reported in areas E of Chinautla, 37 km NNE. News media reported that one person (a reporter) died and three children were missing. On 29 May, a 90-m-wide lava flow that traveled SSE at an estimated rate of 100 m per hour burned three houses on the Pacaya Grande ranch... (reference #2432) Cited references #2432 Venzke, E., R.W. Wunderman, L. McClelland, T. Simkin, J.F. Luhr, L. Siebert, and G. Mayberry (eds.) (2002-): Global Volcanism, 1968 to the Present. Smithsonian Institution, Global Volcanism Program Digital Information Series, GVP-4 (http://www.volcano.si.edu/reports/). #9674 Associated Press (2010): Big volcanic eruptions in Guatemala, Ecuador, AP foreign, Friday May 28 2010, The Guardian. Retrieved from link Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), Global Significant Earthquake Database. doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K
2004 Jul 19 ? - 2005 Sep 11	MacKenney Cone and lower S flank Historical obs./docs.	3?
2002 May 30 - Jun 17 ?	MacKenney Crater Historical obs./docs.	1?
2001 Oct 31	MacKenney Crater Historical obs./docs.	1
2000 Aug 16 ±15 d. - 2001 Jul 5 ?	MacKenney Crater Historical obs./docs.	1
1990 Jan 4 ? - 2000 Mar 1	MacKenney Crater and flank vents Historical obs./docs.	3
1995 Apr 7 (eruption 1990 Jan 4 ? - 2000 Mar 1)	Historical obs./docs.	3	1	light	Info
1995 Apr 7: A lahar completely covered a house and killed a little girl in Los Rios. The inhabitants were evacuated as 25-35-cm-thick volcanic sand was deposited over the village. As a result of a hazard study, many villagers had been previously evacuated. (reference #2432) Cited references #2432 Venzke, E., R.W. Wunderman, L. McClelland, T. Simkin, J.F. Luhr, L. Siebert, and G. Mayberry (eds.) (2002-): Global Volcanism, 1968 to the Present. Smithsonian Institution, Global Volcanism Program Digital Information Series, GVP-4 (http://www.volcano.si.edu/reports/). Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), Global Significant Earthquake Database. doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K
1965 Jul 4 - 1989 Mar 10	MacKenney Crater and flank vents Historical obs./docs.	3
1987 Jan 25 (eruption 1965 Jul 4 - 1989 Mar 10)	Historical obs./docs.	3		light	Info
1987 Jan 25: The explosion, at about 1730 [25 January 1987], ejected a column that rose to 8 km altitude and was blown south by 70 km/hour winds. Many houses in El Caracol (3 km SW of the vent), El Patrocinio (3.5 km W), and Los Pocitos (6 km SSE) were hit by 25-cm blocks... The press reported at least 15 injuries (but only one that required hospitalization) and as many as 3,000 evacuees. The next day the head of the National Emergency Committee said that 600 people remained evacuated, 63 homes were damaged, and many cattle and pigs had been killed. As of mid-February, typical Strombolian activity had resumed, and no additional strong explosions had been reported. (reference #2432) Cited references #2432 Venzke, E., R.W. Wunderman, L. McClelland, T. Simkin, J.F. Luhr, L. Siebert, and G. Mayberry (eds.) (2002-): Global Volcanism, 1968 to the Present. Smithsonian Institution, Global Volcanism Program Digital Information Series, GVP-4 (http://www.volcano.si.edu/reports/). Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), Global Significant Earthquake Database. doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K
1961 Mar 11 - Apr 15 ?	Cachajinas vent (South flank, 1860 m) Historical obs./docs.	2
1885 Dec	Historical obs./docs.	2
1846 Feb	Cerro Chino Historical obs./docs.	2
?? 1830	Uncertain Eruption	?
1805	Historical obs./docs.	2
1775 Jul 1 - Jul 23 or later	Cerro Chino (SW flank and summit) Historical obs./docs.	3
?? 1760	Uncertain Eruption	?
?? 1717	Uncertain Eruption	?

Remark:

Our list of volcanic eruptions closely follows the database of eruptions of the Smithsonian's Global Volcanism Project (GVP), the internationally most recognized data source for volcanic eruptions, but also includes significant eruptive episodes or related volcano events. "Volcanic eruptions" are usually to be understood as sequences of individual eruptive episodes that can follow each other, or even overlap (if several vents are involved), and can last many years, decades or even longer. For example, the current activity of Stromboli volcano is understood as a single eruption that has been ongoing since 1934.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), Global Significant Volcanic Eruptions Database. doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K | Global Volcanism Project / Smithsonian Institution

Pacaya Volcano FAQ

+When was the last eruption of Pacaya volcano?

The last confirmed eruption of Pacaya occurred during 2015 - 2021.

+How often does Pacaya volcano erupt?

Since 1565 AD, Pacaya volcano has had at least 28 historically documented eruptions. This means that it erupts on average every 16.4 years.
Many eruptions of Pacaya have lasted more than one year. In total, the volcano has been in eruption during 73 out of 460 years until now. In other words, Pacaya has been active at least one in 6.3 years on average. Note that this value is likely an underestimate, because the known history of eruptions from Pacaya is likely incomplete, especially further back in time.

+How active is Pacaya volcano at present?

Pacaya volcano is extremely active: Since 1900, it has had 55 eruptions, and been active during 55 years out of 126 as of now. This means, Pacaya has been in eruption one in 2.3 years on average. The last eruption was from 2015 until 2021 and ended 4 years ago.

+When was the largest eruption of Pacaya volcano?

The largest eruption of Pacaya volcano in historic times occurred during 2006 - 2010. It ranks as a "vulcanian" eruption with a magnitude 3 on the VEI (Volcanic Explosivity Index) scale.

Latest satellite images

See also: Sentinel hub | Landsat 8 | NASA FIRMS

Latest satellite images

Pacaya Volcano Tours

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9-19 Nov 2025

Pacaya Volcano Maps

Below is a selection of maps showing the location and surroundings of the volcano at various resolutions based on aerial-imagery / terrain maps. Feel free to use them for non-commercial purposes on your blog or website as long as you credit them with a link back to this page (click to copy it).