Negro, Cerro

Image
fiery light of an exploding volcano
Copyrighted by Robert Decker. 

Photograph of a Strombolian eruption at Cerro Negro in 1968.

 

Image
aerial view of Cerro Negro volcano eruption with plumes of smoke emitting from the top of the volcano
U.S. Geological Survey photograph

Cerro Negro is the most recent basaltic cinder cone to form in the western hemisphere. The most recent eruption was in May-August 1995. The 1968 eruption is shown in the above U.S. Geological Survey photograph. The cinder cone was 750 feet (230 m) tall at that time. Note that the cone rests on older lava flows. Most eruptions at Cerro Negro produce both pyroclastic material and lava flows.

 

Image
Cerro Negro eruption with smoke
Photograph of a 1968 eruption at Cerro Negro copyrighted by Robert Decker

Cerro Negro has erupted at least 20 times since 1850. The longest eruption was in 1960 and lasted 3 months.

 

Image
Cerro Negro smoking
Photograph of the 1948 eruption of Cerro Negro by R.E. Wilcox, U.S. Geological Survey.

Information on the 1995 eruption of Cerro Negro.


Sources of Information:

Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network, 1995, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., v. 20, no. 5, p. 2-4. McClelland, L., Simkin, T., Summers, M., Nielson, E., Stein, T.C., 1989, Global volcanism 1975-1985: Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, and American Geophysical Union, Washington DC, 655 p. Simkin, T., and Siebert, L., 1994, Volcanoes of the world: Geoscience Press, Tucson, Arizona, 349 p.

 

Latitude (DD)
12.51
Longitude (dd)
-86.70
Elevation (m)
728
Country
Nicaragua
Type
Cinder Cone