Izalco Volcano

Updated: May 23, 2025 11:47 GMT - refresh

stratovolcano

El Salvador, 13.81°N / -89.63°W

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Summit height: 1950 m / 6,398 ft

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

Izalco volcano, El Salvador (image courtesy: Angela Rucker, USAID)

Izalco volcano was born in 1770 and is the youngest volcano in El Slavador. It formed on the southern flank of Santa Ana volcano located 45 km NW of San Salvador city.
Frequent strombolian eruptions and sometimes lava flows have built a largely unvegetated cone 650 m high which contains a 250 m wide and 50 m deep summit crater.
Volcán Izalco was frequently active between 1770 and 1966, but has been in its longest repose interval of its short history since then.
Similarly to Stromboli volcano in Italy, it acquired the nickname of "El Faro", the "Lighthouse of the Pacific", because of its frequent strombolian eruptions that provided a natural night-time beacon beacon for ships.
Izalco is one of the most frequently active volcanoes in North and Central America.

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News/Updates | Earthquakes

Typical eruption style: strombolian
Izalco volcano eruptions: 1966, 1948-57, 1939-48, 1937-38(?), 1933-34, 1931, 1930, 1927-28(?), 1925-27, 1924, 1920-21, 1912-16, 1903-05, 1902, 1899-1900, 1891-98, 1890, 1887-89, 1885, 1884, 1883, 1882, 1881, 1879-80, 1878, 1874-75 (?), 1872-73, 1870 (?), 1869, 1868, 1867, 1866, 1864-65, 1863, 1859-60, 1858-59,1857, 1856, 1854, 1850, 1844, 1842, 1838-40, 1836, 1825, 1817, 1805-07, 1802-03, 1798, 1793, 1783, 1772(?), 1770

Latest nearby earthquakes

Date and Time	Mag / Depth	Distance / Location
May 21, 11:28 am (GMT -6)	2.0 5 km	14 km (8.9 mi) to the NW	13 km Al Norte De Ahuachapan, El Salvador	Info
Tuesday, May 20, 2025 GMT (5 quakes)
May 20, 10:48 am (Universal Time)	1.5 10 km	15 km (9.1 mi) to the NW	11 km Al Sureste De Ahuachapan, El Salvador	Info
May 20, 08:39 am (Universal Time)	2.4 4 km	15 km (9.5 mi) to the NW	11 km Al Norte De Ahuachapan, El Salvador	Info
May 20, 08:34 am (Universal Time)	2.0 7 km	15 km (9 mi) to the NW	12 km Al Norte De Ahuachapan, El Salvador	Info
May 20, 08:30 am (Universal Time)	1.7 6 km	13 km (8.2 mi) to the NW	13 km Al Norte De Ahuachapan, El Salvador	Info
May 20, 03:59 am (Universal Time)	1.6 8 km	26 km (16 mi) to the E	19 km Al Sureste De Santa Ana, El Salvador	Info
Sunday, May 18, 2025 GMT (1 quake)
May 18, 10:25 am (Universal Time)	1.5 7 km	14 km (8.4 mi) to the NW	13 km Al Norte De Ahuachapan, El Salvador	Info
Saturday, May 17, 2025 GMT (5 quakes)
2025-05-17 17:58:37	2.5 4 km	16 km (9.7 mi) to the NW	10 km Al Sureste De Ahuachapan, El Salvador	Info
May 17, 05:58 pm (GMT -6)	2.5 8 km	14 km (8.9 mi) to the NW	12 km Al Norte De Ahuachapan, El Salvador	Info

View recent quakes

Background

Volcán de Izalco is dominantly basaltic to andesite in composition. Its lavas are geochemically distinct from those of both Santa Ana and its fissure-controlled flank vents. The lavas from Izalco have markedly higher content of Al2O3, CaO and Sr, and lower incompatible elements (Zr, Rb, K, Ba and TiO2).
Most lava flows from Izalco were erupted from flank vents and traveled south due to the topographic setting on the slopes of Santa Ana volcano, reaching up to 7 km distance.

Izalco is known for its high-temperature minerals discovered at fumaroles in the summit crater, including shcherbinaite, bannermanite, stoiberite, fingerite, ziesite, blossite and mcbirneyite. 6 new vanadium minerals in particular were discovered at Izalco volcano and 5 of these have been elevated to mineral status. 2 of these minerals are among the most vanadium-rich compounds known in nature (Hughes and Stoiber, 1985).

Sources and further reading:
- Smithsonian / GVP volcano information
- J. M. Hughes, R. E. Stoiber (1985) "Vanadium sublimates from the fumaroles of Izalco volcano, El Salvador", J. of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, v. 24 (3-4), pp. 283-291
- Rose, W. I. Jr., Stoiber, R. E. (1969) "The 1966 eruption of Izalco volcano, El Salvador" J. Geophys. Res., v. 74, pp. 3119–3130
- Sheets P. D. (2004) "Apocalypse then: social science approaches to volcanism, people, and cultures in the Zapotitan Valley, El Salvador", in : Rose W. I., Bommer J. J., Lopez D. L., Carr M. J., Major J. J. (eds) "Natural Hazards in El Salvador", Bolder, Colorado, Geological Society of America Special Paper v. 375, pp. 109–120

Significant volcanic eruptions: Izalco volcano

In the past 10,000 years, Izalco has had at least 51 confirmed eruptions, all documented by historical records or observations. Additionally, there are 3 uncertain or discredited eruptions from Izalco volcano.

The table below lists all known eruptions (date in bold face) of Izalco volcano since around 1800. Updates on the most recent volcanic activity of Izalco can be found on the news page of Izalco volcano.

Date	Note	VEI	Deaths
1966 Oct 28 - Nov 16 ±15 d.	SSE flank (550 m below summit) Historical obs./docs.	0
1948 Nov 4 - 1957 Dec 1 ±30 d.	Summit, SW and NE flanks Historical obs./docs.	3
1939 Feb - 1948 Feb	Summit and SSE flank Historical obs./docs.	2
1937 ? - 1938 ?	Historical obs./docs.	2?
1933 Nov 30 - 1934 Jan 12 or later	Historical obs./docs.	2
1931 Mar 31 ±90 d.	Historical obs./docs.	2
1930 Apr	Outer slope of eastern summit crater Historical obs./docs.	?
1927 - 1928 ?	Historical obs./docs.	2
1925 Dec 26 - 1927 Jan	Historical obs./docs.	3?
1924 Mar	Historical obs./docs.	2
1920 Oct 29 - 1921 Apr 10	SE flank Historical obs./docs.	2
1920 Oct 29 (eruption 1920 Oct 29 - 1921 Apr 10)	Historical obs./docs.	3	1-50 (*)	Info
1920 Oct 29: Deaths probably occurred in pyroclastic flow. Cited references #1412 Simkin, Tom, and Lee Siebert with the collaboration of Russell Blong, Jonathan Dehn, Christopher Newhall, Roland Pool, and Thomas C. Stein (1994): Volcanoes of the World, Second Edition, A Regional Directory, Gazetteer, and Chronology of Volcanism During the Last 10,000 Years, Geoscience Press, Inc., Tucson, Arizona, in association with Smithsonian Institution, Global Volcanism Program, Washington, D.C., p. 164-176. Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), Global Significant Earthquake Database. doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K
1912 Jan 16 - 1916 Jan 26	Summit and NE flank Historical obs./docs.	2
1903 Nov - 1905 Mar	Summit and east flank Historical obs./docs.	2
1902 May 10 - Dec 30	Summit and NE flank Historical obs./docs.	2
1899 Dec 31 - 1900 Mar	Historical obs./docs.	2
1891 - 1898 Jul	Historical obs./docs.	2
1890 Mar 26 ±5 d. - Apr 20	Summit and upper east flank Historical obs./docs.	?
1887 - 1889	Historical obs./docs.	2
1885	Historical obs./docs.	2
1884 Mar 9 - Mar 10	Historical obs./docs.	2
1883 Sep 5 ±4 d. - Nov 13	Historical obs./docs.	2
1882 Jul 12	Historical obs./docs.	2
1881 Jan 1	Historical obs./docs.	?
1879 Dec 25 - 1880 Mar	Historical obs./docs.	2
1878	Historical obs./docs.	?
?? 1874 - 1875	Uncertain Eruption	?
1872 Dec - 1873 Mar 19 or later	Historical obs./docs.	2
?? 1870 May 19	Uncertain Eruption	2?
1869 Mar 1 ? - Jun 18 or later	Summit and east flank Historical obs./docs.	2
1868 Feb 16 - Feb 17	Historical obs./docs.	2
1867 Apr - Aug	Historical obs./docs.	2
1866 Apr 27 - Aug 15 ±5 d.	Historical obs./docs.	2
1864 May 15 ±2 d. - 1865 Jun 15 ±5 d.	Summit and NE flank Historical obs./docs.	2
1863	Historical obs./docs.	?
1859 Dec 8 - 1860 Jan 22	Historical obs./docs.	?
1858 Feb 6 - 1859 Jul	Historical obs./docs.	2
1857 Feb 15 - Feb 19 or later	Historical obs./docs.	2
1856 May 24 - Sep 1 ±1 d.	Summit and south flank Historical obs./docs.	2
1854 May 13 - Jun 8	Historical obs./docs.	2
1850	Historical obs./docs.	2
1844 Jun - Oct	Historical obs./docs.	2
1842	Historical obs./docs.	2
1838 - 1840	Historical obs./docs.	2
1836	Historical obs./docs.	2
1825	Historical obs./docs.	2
1817	Historical obs./docs.	2
1805 - 1807	Historical obs./docs.	2
1802 - 1803	Historical obs./docs.	2

(*) Estimated numbers

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

Eruptions of Izalco volcano

1999 increase in fumarolic activity
Fumarolic activity increased at Izalco volcano in 1999. Fumaroles at the summit of Izalco volcano that had not been active for 35 years started to emit hot (85 deg C) vapor in 1999. An increase had also been observed in November 1998 following Hurricane Mitch.

1973 thermal anomaly
A slight thermal anomaly of up to 15 deg C was detected by infrared measurements at the crater of Izalco in 1973. ...more info

1966 eruption
Izalco volcano started to erupt on 28 October 1966 from a vent located 550 m on the SSE flank below the summit, the same area that also was active in 1946. the erution produced 2 lava flows of about 1.2 km length.

1926 eruption & fatalit
Lava flows from the eruption in 1926 buried the village of Matazano. 56 people were killed during the eruption.

1924 eruption
A strombolian eruption started around 24 October 1924 at Izalco volcano and lasted until 10 Nov, but shortly resumed on 21 December the same year.

1920-21 eruption
An eruption of Izalco volcano began on 29 October 1920 from a vent on the upper SE flank and lasted until 1 April 1921.

Izalco Volcano FAQ

+When was the last eruption of Izalco volcano?

The last confirmed eruption of Izalco occurred in 1966.

+How often does Izalco volcano erupt?

Since 1770, Izalco volcano has had at least 51 historically documented eruptions. This means that it erupts on average every 5 years.
Many eruptions of Izalco have lasted more than one year. In total, the volcano has been in eruption during 98 out of 255 years until now. In other words, Izalco has been active at least one in 2.6 years on average. Note that this value is likely an underestimate, because the known history of eruptions from Izalco is likely incomplete, especially further back in time.

+How active is Izalco volcano at present?

Izalco volcano is very active: Since 1900, it has had 43 eruptions, and been active during 43 years out of 126 as of now. This means, Izalco has been in eruption one in 2.9 years on average. The last eruption was in 1966 and ended 59 years ago.

+When was the largest eruption of Izalco volcano?

The largest eruption of Izalco volcano in historic times occurred during 1948 - 1957. 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

Izalco 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).