San Salvador Volcano

Updated: Nov 27, 2025 10:37 GMT - refresh

stratovolcano

El Salvador, 13.73°N / -89.29°W

+Local time:

Sunrise:

Sunset:

Moonrise:

Moonset:

Summit height: 1893 m / 6,211 ft

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

Last update: 9 Mar 2022 (Devastating rain-caused landslide on NE flank)

San Salvador volcano is a massive stratovolcano immediately northwestwest of El Salvador city. Its modern summit cone is also called the Boqueron stratovolcano. It formed within a 6 km wide caldera left by the collapse of the predecessor volcano about 40,000 years ago. Remnants of the caldera rim form the Picacho and Jabalí peaks.
Boqueron volcano is truncated by a steep-walled, 500 m deep and 1500 m wide summit crater, which formed during a large eruption about 800 years ago. Before the last eruption in 1917, the crater of Boqueron contained a 400 m wide lake, which was replaced by a small, 30 m high young cinder cone, called Boqueroncito, built during the eruption along with a major lava flow on the north flank.
Most historical eruptions from San Salvador originated from flank vents.

[smaller] [larger]

San Salvador webcams / live data | News/Updates | Earthquakes

Typical eruption style: effusive flank fissure eruptions
San Salvador volcano eruptions: 1917, 1806 (?), 1671, 1658, 1572 ± 2, ?1200, 640 AD ± 30 years

Latest nearby earthquakes

Date and Time	Mag / Depth	Distance / Location

View recent quakes

Background

The San Salvador or Quezaltepeque volcanic center formed in the southern part of the main graben of El Salvador and is dominantly andesitic. 3 fracture zones that extend beyond the base of San Salvador volcano have been the locus for numerous flank eruptions, including 2 that formed maars on the WNW and SE sides.
Most of the 4 historical eruptions recorded since the 16th century have originated from flank vents, including two eruptions in the 17th century from the NW-flank cone of El Playón, during which explosions and a lava flow damaged inhabited areas.

Significant volcanic eruptions: San Salvador volcano

In the past 10,000 years, San Salvador has had at least 5 confirmed volcanic eruptions, out of which 3 are documented by historical records, while the others can be inferred from geological evidence.
Additionally, there are 2 uncertain or discredited eruptions from San Salvador volcano.

The table below lists all known eruptions (date in bold face) of San Salvador volcano in historic times and during the past 10,000 years. Updates on the most recent volcanic activity of San Salvador can be found on the news page of San Salvador volcano.

Date	Note	VEI	Deaths
1917 Jun 7 - Nov	Boquerón summit and north flank Historical obs./docs.	3
1917 Jun 7 (eruption 1917 Jun 7 - Nov)	Historical obs./docs.	3	325	Info
1917 Jun 7: CAVW and Roy make no mention of fatalities in this eruption but Jaggar reports some people caught and killed in lava flow; several hundred were killed and many wounded when 15 towns including capital destroyed by volcanogenic earthquake on same day. 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. #1628 various (1951-1975): Catalogue of the Active Volcanoes of the World including Solfatara Fields. Rome: International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior, 22 volumes. [vol.s are listed individually in NGDC's Reference Database.] #1642 Jaggar, T.A. (1931): The Volcanoes of Central America. The Volcano Letter, 355: 1-3. Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), Global Significant Earthquake Database. doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K
?? 1806	Uncertain Eruption	?
1658 AD Nov 3 - 1671 Aug	NW flank (El Playón) Historical obs./docs.	3
1659 AD Sep 30 (eruptive episode 1659 AD Sep 30)	Historical obs./docs.	3		Info
1659 AD Sep 30: Complete destruction of the city and great eruption. The volcano remained inactive until 1917. 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
1575 AD	Loma de Grandes Bloques Historical obs./docs.	3?
1200 ? AD	Boquerón	4
640 ±30 y. AD	NW flank (Loma Caldera)	3?
590 AD (eruptive episode 590 AD)	Historical obs./docs.	0	1-50 (*)	Info
590 AD: Sheets report bodies found in house excavated beneath Ceren tephra. Death resulted from volcanic gases, burning or suffocation from tephra. 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
1040 ±300 y. BC	Discredited Eruption

(*) 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 San Salvador volcano

1999 unrest
A small seismic swarm occurred in August 1999, when volcano-tectonic earthquakes about 5 km from the crater were detected. No other signs of unrest were noted.

1917 eruption
The last eruption of San Salvador volcano began on 6 June 1917 following strong and destructive earthquakes lasting for 2 hours. The eruption consisted of an effusive fissure eruption on the NW flank followed by a moderately explosive summit eruption (similar, but smaller in scale, to the Eyafjallajökull eruption in 2010).
The effusive phase produced a large aa lava flow on the NW flank, left a row of cinder cones on the eruptive fissure, and lasted about a week. The second phase started simultaneously with the waning of the waning of the first phase from a fissure vent inside the summit crater. It quickly evaporated a former 400 m wide lake and built the small Boqueroncito cinder cone. ...more info

San Salvador Volcano FAQ

+When was the last eruption of San Salvador volcano?

The last confirmed eruption of San Salvador occurred in 1917.

+How often does San Salvador volcano erupt?

Since 1575 AD, San Salvador volcano has had at least 3 historically documented eruptions. This means that it erupts on average every 150 years.
Many eruptions of San Salvador have lasted more than one year. In total, the volcano has been in eruption during 16 out of 450 years until now. In other words, San Salvador has been active at least one in 28.1 years on average. Note that this value is likely an underestimate, because the known history of eruptions from San Salvador is likely incomplete, especially further back in time.

+How active is San Salvador volcano at present?

San Salvador volcano is occasionally active: Since 1900, it has had one eruption, which occurred in 1917.

+When was the largest eruption of San Salvador volcano?

The largest eruption known from the younger geological history of San Salvador volcano occurred in 1200 AD. 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

San Salvador 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).