The American continent is full of volcanoes that have marked the history and culture of this territory. Some of them are active and have recently erupted, while others are extinct. In this article, we give you information on some of the most prominent and we show you impressive images.
Below you have an index with all the points that we are going to deal with in this article.
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North America
Although North America is not the part of the American continent that has the most volcanoes, we can find some important ones. These are the most representative:
Colima volcano
This volcano is located between Colima and Jalisco, in Mexico, and has an altitude of 3.960 meters above sea level. It is one of the volcanoes in America that are still active.
In recent years its activity has been increasing, so it is constantly monitored by experts, since there are several populations with some risk if the volcano were to erupt.
Mount Saint Helena
Mount Saint Helena is the most famous volcano in the United States. It is located in the state of Washington, in the Northwest Pacific region, and has an altitude of 2.250 meters above sea level
Its most prominent eruption occurred in 1980, as it was the deadliest and most destructive in the country's history: 57 people died and roads, bridges and houses were destroyed. The eruption was of such magnitude that its height dropped 400 m. At present, it continues asset.
Popocatepetl
The Popocatépetl volcano is quite dangerous, since it is active and has eruptions practically every year. It is located between the states of Puebla and Morelos, in Mexico.
Popocatépetl means in Nahuatl, an indigenous language of Mexico, smoking mountain. This 5.500 m high volcano is constantly watched, as its eruptions threaten approximately 26 million people.
Central America
The Pacific Ring of Fire passes through Central America, so the number of volcanoes is quite high. Some of them are dangerous for the population.
San Salvador volcano
It is located in El Salvador, just 11 km from the capital of the country. It has two main peaks: the Picacho, 1.969 meters above sea level, and the Boquerón, 1.839 meters above sea level. It is also known as quezaltepeque o Quezaltepeq.
Its last eruption was in 1917, which was accompanied by a earthquake. It is currently asleep, so it can be practically reached its top through some trails.
Santa Maria volcano
The Santa María volcano, also called quetzaltenangIt is located in Guatemala and has an altitude of 3.772 meters above sea level. During some winters it comes to snow on it, although it is not a daily phenomenon.
Its most prominent eruption occurred in 1902 and is classified as one of three eruptions bigger 28th century. During this, the ash reached XNUMX km in height and one of its slopes was destroyed.
Fire volcano
We found the Fuego volcano between the departments of Sacatepéquez, Escuintla and Chimaltenango, in Guatemala. Is a active volcano, since every few years it erupts and even several times in the same year. Therefore, it is a difficult volcano to predict. In this impressive video you can see how it erupts:
South America
Along the Andes mountain range we can find numerous volcanoes. Here are some of the most important:
Misti volcano
The Misti volcano is located in southern Peru, near Arequipa, within the Andes mountain range. It has an altitude of 5.822 meters above sea level
It is notoriously dangerous since, if it were to erupt, lava and ash would reach Arequipa. Today you can climb to its top, although the tour lasts two days.
Tungurahua volcano
The Tungurahua volcano is in Ecuador. Tungurahua means in Quichua, an indigenous language of the Quechuas family, throat of fire. This volcano is also known as Black Giant.
It has an altitude of 5.023 meters above sea level and, although before it had glaciers At its peak, they will end up melted by their activity. An eruption began in 1992 that has not ended yet.
Puyehue volcano
In Chile, specifically in the Lake District, in the Andes mountain range, we find the Puyehue volcano. It is part of the Puyehue-Cordón Caulle Volcanic Complex (CVPCC).
In 1960, days after a major earthquake, the volcano erupted. After a hiatus, its activity resumed in 2011. In this video you can see the eruption of that year:
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