San Benedicto Island
| San Benedicto | |
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San Benedicto Island – Landsat Image N-12-15 2000 (1:25,000)
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| Highest point | |
| Elevation | c.332 metres (1,089 ft) |
| Coordinates | 19°18′16″N 110°48′52″W / 19.30444°N 110.81444°W |
| Geography | |
| Location | Revillagigedo Islands, México |
| Geology | |
| Mountain type | Cinder cones |
| Last eruption | 1953 |
San Benedicto, formerly Isla de los Innocentes, is an uninhabited island, and third largest island of the Revillagigedo Islands, located in the Pacific ocean.
It is 4.8 km by 2.4 km in size, with an area 10 km². It is of volcanic origin. It has two prominent peaks. The tallest peak, Bárcena, rises to a height of 332 metres (1,089 feet) near the southern part of the island. It forms a typical volcanic crater. It is located between the remains of two older craters, Herrera in the middle of the island and the Montículo Cinerítico ("Ash Heap") in the southwest. There is no permanent source of freshwater.
The first recorded sighting of San Benedicto was by the Spanish expedition of Hernando de Grijalva on 28 December 1533 that charted it as Isla de los Inocentes due to this day being the festivity of the Holy Innocents. In November 1542, it was sighted again by the expedition of Ruy López de Villalobos that incorrectly identified it with the Santo Tomás of Grijalva (present day Socorro Island).
Barcena's only historic eruption began around 8:30 AM on August 1, 1952, from the El Boquerón vent. In a severe Vulcanian eruption of magnitude 3 on the Volcanic Explosivity Index scale, pyroclastic flows rolled over the island. Soon the entire island was covered in ash and pumice up to 3 m (10 ft ) high. Ejecta filled the valley between Herrera crater and Montículo Cinerítico, and by August 14 had formed a cone some 300 m (over 1000 ft) high. After some months with little activity, a second series of eruptions began on November 1, 1952. On December 8, the magma broke through the cone's southeastern base and started to flow into the sea. This continued to about February 24, 1953. By March 9, 1953, most activity had subsided, except fumaroles in the crater and at the rift in its base; the lava was hard but still retained much heat. By late 1953, the volcano was dormant again.
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Wikipedia