English: Basic Data
Volcano Number 342090
Last Known Eruption 2018 CE
Elevation 3763 m / 12343 ft
Latitude 14.473°N
Longitude 90.88°W
Volcano Types
Stratovolcano(es)
Rock Types
Major
Basalt / Picro-Basalt Andesite / Basaltic Andesite
Minor
Trachyandesite / Basaltic Trachyandesite
Tectonic Setting
Subduction zone
Continental crust (> 25 km)
Population
Within 5 km 1,373
Within 10 km 54,332
Within 30 km 1,016,339
Within 100 km 7,677,809

Geological Summary

Volcán Fuego, one of Central America's most active volcanoes, is one of three large stratovolcanoes overlooking Guatemala's former capital, Antigua. The scarp of an older edifice, Meseta, lies between 3763-m-high Fuego and its twin volcano to the north, Acatenango. Construction of Meseta dates back to about 230,000 years and continued until the late Pleistocene or early Holocene. Collapse of Meseta may have produced the massive Escuintla debris-avalanche deposit, which extends about 50 km onto the Pacific coastal plain. Growth of the modern Fuego volcano followed, continuing the southward migration of volcanism that began at Acatenango. In contrast to the mostly andesitic Acatenango, eruptions at Fuego have become more mafic with time, and most historical activity has produced basaltic rocks. Frequent vigorous historical eruptions have been recorded since the onset of the Spanish era in 1524, and have produced major ashfalls, along with occasional pyroclastic flows and lava flows.