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Colima
Colima, 2003
Elevation	4,330 metres (14,206 ft)
Location	Jalisco-Colima state borders in Mexico
Coordinates	19°34′N 103°36′W / 19.567, -103.6Coordinates: 19°34′N 103°36′W / 19.567, -103.6
Type	Stratovolcano
Volcanic arc/belt	Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt
Age of rock	5 million years
Last eruption	2008 (ongoing)

Colima's volcano as seen by the Landsat satellite

Colima's Volcano is the most active volcano in Mexico, and has erupted more than 40 times since 1576. Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... A topographical summit is a point on a surface which is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. ... Location within Mexico Country Capital Municipalities 126 Largest City Guadalajara Government  - Governor Emilio González Márquez (PAN)  - Federal Deputies PAN: 18 PRI: 1  - Federal Senators Eva Contreras (PAN) Héctor Pérez (PAN) Ramiro Hernández (PRI) Area Ranked 6th  - State 30,534. ... Colima is the name of a city and a state in Mexico. ... Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ... Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ... Mountains can be characterized in several ways. ... A cutaway diagram of a stratovolcano Mount St. ... Mariana Islands, an oceanic island arc Cascade Volcanic Arc, a continental volcanic arc A volcanic arc is a chain of volcanic islands or mountains formed by plate tectonics as an oceanic tectonic plate subducts under another tectonic plate and produces magma. ... A volcanic belt is a district of volcanoes, located in a certain area. ... The Trans-Mexican volcanic belt (Eje Volcánico Transversal) is a mountain range that extends 900 km from west to east across central Mexico. ... // For other uses, see time scale. ... Cleveland Volcano in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska photographed from the International Space Station For other uses, see Volcano (disambiguation). ... Landsat image of Colima volcano, Mexico. ... Landsat image of Colima volcano, Mexico. ... Landsat 7, launched in 1999, is the most recent addition to the Landsat program. ... Cleveland Volcano in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska photographed from the International Space Station For other uses, see Volcano (disambiguation). ...

Despite its name, only a fraction of the volcano's surface area is contained within the state of Colima; the majority of its surface area lies just over the border in the neighboring state of Jalisco, toward the western end of the Eje Volcánico Transversal mountain range. It is about 485 km (301 mi) west of Mexico City and 125 km (78 mi) south of Guadalajara, Jalisco. Colima is the name of a city and a state in Mexico. ... Location within Mexico Country Capital Municipalities 126 Largest City Guadalajara Government  - Governor Emilio González Márquez (PAN)  - Federal Deputies PAN: 18 PRI: 1  - Federal Senators Eva Contreras (PAN) Héctor Pérez (PAN) Ramiro Hernández (PRI) Area Ranked 6th  - State 30,534. ... The Trans-Mexican volcanic belt (Eje Volcánico Transversal) is a mountain range that extends 900 km from west to east across central Mexico. ... For exotic financial options, see Mountain range (options). ... Nickname: Location of Mexico City Coordinates: , Country Federal entity Boroughs The 16 delegaciones Founded c. ... Coordinates: , Country State Foundation 1542 Government  - Mayor Alfonso Petersen Farah ( PAN) Area  - City 187. ...

There are actually two peaks in the volcano complex: Nevado de Colima (4330 m), which is older and inactive, lies about 5 kilometres north of the younger and very active 3860 metre Volcán de Colima (also called Volcán de Fuego de Colima). Since 1869-1878, a parasitic set of domes, collectively known as El Volcancito, have formed on the northeast flank of the main cone of Colima's volcano ^[1].

Geological history

The above image was taken high above the Colima volcano at approximately 33,000 feet. The dome inside the crater at the top of the volcano can be easily seen. Pyroclastic flows of past eruptions are also clearly visible running down the sides of the mountain. There were a number of mild earthquakes around the volcano (5.4 on the Richter scale) earlier that week.

Colima's volcano has been active for about five million years. In the late Pleistocene era, a huge landslide occurred at the mountain, with approximately 25 km³ of debris travelling some 120 km, reaching the Pacific Ocean. An area of some 2,200 km² was covered in landslide deposits. Massive collapse events seem to recur at Colima's volcano every few thousand years. The Pleistocene epoch (IPA: ) on the geologic timescale is the period from 1,808,000 to 11,550 years BP. The Pleistocene epoch had been intended to cover the worlds recent period of repeated glaciations. ... This article is about geological phenomenon. ...

The currently active cone is situated within a large caldera that was probably formed by a combination of landslides and large eruptions. About 300,000 people live within 40 km of the volcano, and in light of its history of large eruptions and situation in a densely populated area, it has been designated a Decade Volcano, singling it out for particular study. Satellite image of Santorini. ... A map showing locations of the 16 Decade Volcanoes The Decade Volcanoes are 16 volcanoes identified by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earths Interior (IAVCEI) as being worthy of particular study in light of their history of large, destructive eruptions and proximity to populated areas. ...

Current activity

In recent years there have been frequent temporary evacuations of nearby villagers due to threatening volcanic activity. Eruptions have occurred in 1991, 1998-1999 and from 2001 to the present day, with activity being characterised by extrusion of viscous lava forming a lava dome, and occasional larger explosions, forming pyroclastic flows and dusting the areas surrounding the volcano with ash and tephra. Look up lava, Aa, pahoehoe in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... One of the Mono Craters, an example of a rhyolite dome. ... Pyroclastic flows sweep down the flanks of Mayon Volcano, Philippines, in 1984 A pyroclastic flow (also known as a pyroclastic density current) is a common and devastating result of some volcanic eruptions. ... Ash plume from Mt Cleveland, a stratovolcano Diamond Head, a well-known backdrop to Waikiki in Hawaii, is an ash cone that solidified into tuff Volcanic ash consists of very fine rock and mineral particles less than 2 mm in diameter that are ejected from a volcanic vent. ... Tephra refers to air-fall material produced by a volcanic eruption regardless of composition or fragment size. ...

The largest eruption for several years occurred on 24 May 2005. An ash cloud rose to over 3 km over the volcano, and satellite monitoring indicated that the cloud spread over an area extending 110 nautical miles (200 km) west of the volcano in the hours after the eruption [1]. Pyroclastic flows travelled 4-5 km from the vent, and lava bombs landed 3–4 km away. Authorities set up an exclusion zone within 6.5 km of the summit. is the 144th day of the year (145th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... A lava bomb is a globule of molten rock (tephra) larger than 2. ...

On June 8, 2005, Colima's volcano erupted again in its largest recorded eruption in several decades. Plumes from this eruption reached heights of 5 km (>3 miles) above the crater rim, prompting the evacuation of at least three neighboring villages. is the 159th day of the year (160th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

NOTE: The image to the left taken at 33,000 feet was shot February 9th 2008.

See also

• Mountain peaks of México
• Mountain peaks of North America

The summit of Pico de Orizaba (Citlaltépetl), a stratovolcano on the boundary between the Puebla and Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is the highest peak of México. ... Mount McKinley (Denali) in Alaska is the highest peak of North America. ...

External links

• Universidad de Colima, Observatorio Vulcanológico (in Spanish)
• Universidad de Colima, Centro de Intercambio e Investigación en Vulcanología (in English and Spanish)
• Experiments at Colima by the Alaska Volcano Observatory
• Smithsonian Institution Global Volcanism Program: Colima

References

• Domínguez T., Ramírez J.J., Breton M. (2003), Present Stage Of Activity At Colima Volcano, Mexico, American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2003, abstract #V42B-0350