Image: Volcanoes near Usulután, El Salvador

Description: This astronaut photograph includes four stratovolcanoes—a type of volcano common in active subduction zones—in El Salvador, near the midpoint of the Central American Volcanic Arc. While all of the volcanoes shown here have been active during the Holocene Epoch (from about 10,000 years ago to the present), only the 2,130-meter high San Miguel (also known as Chaparrastique) has been active during historical times. The most recent activity of San Miguel was a minor gas and ash emission in 2013. The stratovolcano’s steep cone shape and well-developed summit crater are evident, along with dark lava flows. Immediately to the north-west, the truncated summit of Chinameca Volcano (also known as El Pacayal) is marked by a two-kilometre wide caldera. The caldera formed when a powerful eruption emptied the volcano’s magma chamber, causing the chamber’s roof to collapse. Like its neighbour San Miguel, Chinameca’s slopes host coffee plantations. Moving to the west, the eroded cone of El Tigre Volcano is visible. El Tigre formed during the Pleistocene Epoch (1.8 million to about 10,000 years ago), and it is likely the oldest of the stratovolcanoes in the image. Usulután Volcano is directly south-west of El Tigre. While the flanks of Usulután have been dissected by streams, the mountain still retains a summit crater that is breached on the eastern side. Several urban areas—recognizable as light grey to white regions contrasting with green vegetation and tan fallow agricultural fields—are located in the vicinity of these volcanoes, including the town of Usulután (lower left) and Santiago de Mara (upper left).
Title: Volcanoes near Usulután, El Salvador
Credit: NASA Earth Observatory
Author: NASA Expedition 23 crew
Usage Terms: Public domain
License: Public domain
Attribution Required?: No