Volcán de Agua

The symmetrical, forested Volcán de Agua stratovolcano forms an impressive backdrop to the city of Antigua, Guatemala, opposite from the Fuego and Acatenango volcanoes. The isolated basaltic andesite to andesite edifice makes it a prominent landmark visible from all directions. A circular 280-m-wide crater is breached on the NNE, six small pit craters are located on the NW flank, and two small cones lie on the S flank. No dated Holocene tephra deposits or recorded eruptions are known from Agua, but its name (the water volcano) originates from a devastating mudflow on 11 September 1541. The mudflow destroyed Ciudad Vieja, the first Guatemalan capital city established by the Spanish Conquistadors, prompting the establishment of a new capital at nearby Antigua.