Volcán Tacaná
| Volcán Tacaná | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 4,060 m (13,320 ft) |
| Prominence | 1,030 m (3,380 ft) |
| Listing | |
| Coordinates | 15°07′57″N 92°06′31″W / 15.13250°N 92.10861°WCoordinates: 15°07′57″N 92°06′31″W / 15.13250°N 92.10861°W |
| Geography | |
 Volcán Tacaná
|
|
| Parent range | Sierra Madre de Chiapas |
| Geology | |
| Mountain type | Stratovolcano |
| Volcanic arc | Central America Volcanic Arc |
| Last eruption | May 1986 |
The Tacaná Volcano is the second highest peak in Central America at 4,060 metres (13,320 ft), located in the Sierra Madre de Chiapas of northern Guatemala and southern Mexico. The volcano is also known in Mexico as Volcán Tacina.
The volcano is located within the Tacaná municipality of the San Marcos Department in Guatemala; and within the Cacahoatán and Unión Juárez Municipalities of Chiapas state in Mexico.
Its last known eruption was registered in 1986 — a small phreatic eruption in May — but it is still considered as dangerous to more than 250,000 people residing in the area.
Tacaná is the first of hundreds of volcanoes in a 1,500 km (930 mi) km row, arranged NW to SE, parallel to the Pacific Ocean coast of Central America, known as the Central America Volcanic Arc, formed by an active subduction zone along the western boundary of the Caribbean Plate.
The agricultural valley at its NNE foothills is covered with thick deposits of lahars. From its headwaters in Guatemala, the valley drains through Mexico to the Pacific Ocean. Consequently, mudflows from future eruptions could be dangerous to those in their path in both countries.
Tacaná is a stratovolcano (composite volcano) that is surrounded by deeply dissected plutonic and metamorphic terrain. It has a 9 km (5.6 mi) wide caldera, with its elongated summit dominated by several lava domes and three large calderas breached to the South.
...
Wikipedia