Volcán Barú
| Barú | |
|---|---|
Volcán Barú and the mountain city of Boquete
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| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 3,475 m (11,401 ft) |
| Listing | Country high point |
| Coordinates | 8°48′31.72″N 82°32′32.42″W / 8.8088111°N 82.5423389°WCoordinates: 8°48′31.72″N 82°32′32.42″W / 8.8088111°N 82.5423389°W |
| Geography | |
 Barú
|
|
| Parent range | Talamanca Range |
| Geology | |
| Mountain type | Stratovolcano |
| Last eruption | 1550 ± 10 years |
The Volcán Barú (also Volcán de Chiriquí) is an active stratovolcano and the tallest mountain in Panama, at 3,475 metres (11,401 ft) high. It lies about 35 km off the border of Costa Rica.
Due to its height and the narrowness of the isthmus of Panama, it is possible (though relatively rare) to see both the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea from Volcán Barú's peak on a clear day.
The small town of Volcán at the base of Volcán Barú sits on the remnants of a huge lahar that appears to have breached the caldera. A small river has eroded the lahar exposing an ancient forest below dated to about 1000 years old (Stewart, pers. communication).
Volcán Barú is surrounded by a fertile area of cool highlands drained by the Chiriquí Viejo and Caldera Rivers. The towns of Volcán and Cerro Punta can be found on its western side, while Boquete is on the eastern flank.
The occasional fall of hail or ice pellets has been reported on the summit, where the minimum temperature can be below 0 °C (32 °F) and the formation of frost is frequent during the dry season. The peak is host to a large installation of broadcast towers.
De Boer et al. were the first to show that El Barú volcano is active and part of the extension of the Central American Volcanic Arc in Panama. Further detailed work on the geochemistry of the lavas from El Barú and other volcanoes in Panama was completed by Defant et al. They substantiated, based on geochemistry, that the lavas were derived by subduction (calc-alkaline). Radiometric dates also showed that the volcanism falls into two groups that range from 20 million years to recent. They also showed that the youngest volcanism consists primarily of adakites (partial melts from the subducted slab) whereas the older volcanism is normal calc-alkaline lavas.
In 2006, an earthquake swarm was registered in the Volcán Barú area. This was not the first one; researchers cite at least three other seismic events of the same nature recorded in the recent past (1930, 1965, 1985).
In 2007, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in coooperation with Panama's Science, Technology and Innovation Secretariat (SENACYT) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), published a study on different aspects of Volcán Barú. The 33-page report outlined potential hazard areas, rock composition, and areas affected by previous eruptions; there is evidence that during the last eruption, which occurred in the 16th century, the debris avalanche deposits covered a volume of 20–30 km³, reaching as far as the Pacific Ocean (the largest documented in Central America and nearly 10 times the area covered by the Mt. St. Helens debris avalanche in 1980).
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