Pacaya volcano Dec 2015: active intra-crater cone
Impressions of Pacaya volcano's activity during 21-22 Dec 2015 from our Guatemala volcano tour.

Pacaya's Mackenney cone seen from the mid 2000's pahoehoe lava field to the NE. (Photo: Tom Pfeiffer... [info]
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(249 Hits)

Hiking towards the base of the Mackenney cone; Cerro Grande in the background. (Photo: Tom Pfeiffer) [info]
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(246 Hits)

View to the north with the caldera rim of Pacaya in middle and the majestic silhouette of Agua strat... [info]
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(211 Hits)

Steam fills the crater of Pacaya (21 Dec 2015) in the evening; in the background, the trio of Fuego,... [info]
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(207 Hits)

Finally, on the morning of 22 Dec, the steam clears from the crater: on its floor, a small cinder co... [info]
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(288 Hits)

A secondary vent, a smaller glowing degassing hole, is present on the southeastern flank of the intr... [info]
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(286 Hits)

Lava spattering from the main vent. (Photo: Tom Pfeiffer) [info]
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(273 Hits)

Zoom onto the secondary vent. (Photo: Tom Pfeiffer) [info]
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(319 Hits)

During the morning, activity gradually increased. (Photo: Tom Pfeiffer) [info]
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(208 Hits)

Some spattering pulses were similar to moderately strong strombolian explosions. (Photo: Tom Pfeiffe... [info]
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(251 Hits)

An eruption of distant Fuego volcano occurred during our stay on the Mackenney crater rim. (Photo: T... [info]
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(222 Hits)

Spattering reached heights of up to 100-150 m, often throwing small bombs higher than the crater rim... [info]
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(212 Hits)

Lava bubbles inside the cone burst into thousands of glowing fragments. (Photo: Tom Pfeiffer) [info]
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(260 Hits)

The rising sun slowly but surely reaches the crater floor, destroying the good visibility we had in ... [info]
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(252 Hits)

Time to descend from the Mackenney cone. (Photo: Tom Pfeiffer) [info]
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(185 Hits)

View back from the campsite. The activity is only producing a steam and gas plume, but not much ash.... [info]
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(159 Hits)