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Ecuador · Shield volcano

Sierra Negra

Negra, Sierra

Type
Shield volcano
Elevation
1124m
Last eruption
2018
Sierra Negra
Photo: Lee Siebert (Smithsonian Institution) · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Type
Shield volcano
Country
Ecuador
Region
Eastern Pacific / Galapagos Hotspot Volcano Group
Elevation
1124m
Coordinates
-0.830, -91.170
Last eruption
2018
Tectonic setting
Rift zone / Oceanic crust (< 15 km)
Landform
Shield
Major rock type
Basalt / Picro-basalt
Geological summary

The broad shield volcano of Sierra Negra at the southern end of Isabela Island contains a shallow 7 x 10.5 km caldera that is the largest in the Galápagos Islands. Flank vents abound, including cinder cones and spatter cones concentrated along an ENE-trending rift system and tuff cones along the coast and forming offshore islands. Although it is the largest of the five major Isabela volcanoes, it has the flattest slopes, averaging less than 5° and diminishing to 2° near the coast. A sinuous 14-km-long, N-S-trending ridge occupies the west part of the caldera floor, which lies only about 100 m below its rim. The Volcán de Azufre fumarolic area lies within a graben between this ridge and the west caldera wall. Lava flows from a major eruption in 1979 extend all the way to the north coast from circumferential fissure vents on the upper northern flank.

From Wikipedia

Sierra Negra is a large shield volcano at the southeastern end of Isabela Island in the Galapagos that rises to an altitude of 1124m. It coalesces with the volcanoes Cerro Azul to the west and Alcedo to the north. It is one of the most active of the Galapagos volcanoes with the most recent historic eruption beginning in June 2018 and continuing through the summer.

Wikipedia · CC BY-SA · Read full article →

Eruption history

18 recordedGlossary
Summary (VEI over time)
Click a bar to see individual eruptions · Use arrow keys to move between bars, Enter to open
8250 BCE~7908 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI 01405 BCE~1062 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI 0307~649 · 1 eruptions · max VEI 0991~1333 · 1 eruptions · max VEI 01333~1676 · 1 eruptions · max VEI 01676~2018 · 13 eruptions · max VEI 38250 BCE5854 BCE3116 BCE720 BCE1676

Detailed timeline

  1. 2018VEI 2Observed
    2018-06-26 – 2018-08-23
    Summit crater and NNW flank, Volcan Chico fissure vent
  2. 2005VEI 3Observed
    2005-10-22 – 2005-10-30
    North caldera rim
  3. 1979VEI 3Observed
    1979-11-13 – 1980-01-14
    Upper NW and NE flanks (Volcán Chico)
  4. 1963VEI 2Observed
    1963-04-13 – 1963-05-16
    Volcán Chico area & NW caldera rim
  5. 1957VEI ?Method not stated
    1957-07-02 – end unknown
    Volcano Uncertain: Isabela Island
  6. 1954VEI 2Method not stated
    1954-11-09 – end unknown
    Volcano Uncertain: originally Alcedo
  7. 1953VEI 3Observed
    1953-08-27 – 1954-01-16
    Volcán Chico area & NW caldera rim
  8. 1948VEI 2Observed
    1948-08-16 – 1949-02-16
  9. 1911VEI ?Observed
    1911-12-31 – end unknown
  10. 1860VEI 2Method not stated
    1860-07-02 – end unknown
    Volcano Uncertain: Isabela Island
  11. 1844VEI 0Method not stated
    1844-07-02 – end unknown
    Volcano Uncertain: Isabela Island
  12. 1817VEI ?Method not stated
    1817-07-02 – end unknown
    Volcano Uncertain: Isabela Island
  13. 1813VEI 2Method not stated
    1813-07-13 – end unknown
    Volcano Uncertain: South end of Isabela Island
  14. 1350 (±500 yrs)VEI 0Geological estimate
    1350 – end unknown
  15. 1060 (±500 yrs)VEI 0Geological estimate
    1060 – end unknown
  16. 370 (±1100 yrs)VEI 0Geological estimate
    370 – end unknown
  17. 1250 BCE (±100 yrs)VEI 0Geological estimate
    1250 BCE – end unknown
    SE flank
  18. 8250 BCE (±1600 yrs)VEI 0Geological estimate
    8250 BCE – end unknown

Nearby volcanoes

External links

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