Izalco, El Salvador

Location: 13.8N, 89.6W
Elevation: 6,396 feet (1,950 m)

Since 1770, Izalco has erupted at least 51 times. Izalco was once the most regularly active volcano in El Salvador, earning the title "lighthouse of the Pacific". A small flank eruption in 1966 was the most recent activity. Temperatures of gases from f umaroles in the summit crater declined from 1964-1974. Izalco is a small stratovolcano made of basalt. Photograph copyrighted and provided by Steve O'Meara of Volcano Watch International.

Photograph copyrighted and provided by Steve O'Meara of Volcano Watch International.

Sources of Information:

Carr, M. J., Mayfield, D.G., and Walker, J.A., 1981, Relation of lava compositions to volcano size and structure in El Salvador: Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, v. 10, p. 35-48.

Carr, M.J., and Pontier, N.K., 1981, Evolution of a young parasitic cone towards a mature central vent: Izalco and Santa Ana volcanoes in El Salvador, central America: Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, v. 11, p. 277-292.

McClelland, L., Simkin, T., Summers, M., Nielsen, E., and Stein, T.C., 1989, Global Volcanism 1975-1985: Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, Prentice Hall, 655 p.

Rose, W.I., and Stoiber, R.E., 1969, The 1966 eruption of Izalco volcano, El Salvador: Journal of Geophysical Research, v. 74, p. 3,119-3,130.

Simkin, T., and Siebert, L., 1994, Volcanoes of the World: Geoscience Press, Tucson, Arizona, 349 p.

Stoiber, R.E., Rose, W.I., Lange, I.M., and Birnie, R.W., 1975, The cooling of Izalco volcano (El Salvador): Geol. Jb. B 13, S. 193-205.



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