Cosigüina

Coordinates: 12°59′N 87°34′W / 12.98°N 87.57°W / 12.98; -87.57
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Cosigüina
Cosigüina crater lake, 2009
Highest point
Elevation872 m (2,861 ft)[1]
Coordinates12°59′N 87°34′W / 12.98°N 87.57°W / 12.98; -87.57[1]
Geography
Cosigüina is located in Nicaragua
Cosigüina
Cosigüina
Location in Nicaragua
LocationChinandega Department, Nicaragua
Geology
Mountain typeStratovolcano
Last eruptionAugust 1859

Cosigüina (also spelt Cosegüina) is a stratovolcano located in the western part of Nicaragua. It forms a large peninsula extending into the Gulf of Fonseca. The summit is truncated by a large caldera, 2 x 2.4 km in diameter and 500 m deep, holding a substantial crater lake (Laguna Cosigüina). This cone has grown within an earlier caldera, forming a somma volcano. The earlier caldera rim is still exposed on the north side, but has been buried by the younger cone elsewhere.

Activity

The volcano last erupted in 1859, but its most famous activity occurred on January 20, 1835,

Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature, the 1835 eruption caused a temporary decrease in the average land temperature of Earth of about 0.75 degrees C.[3]

It has not erupted since 1859, only an instant in terms of geological time. An earthquake swarm was measured near Cosigüina in 2002, indicating that tectonic forces are still active in the region although the volcano is somewhat isolated from the line of more recently active Central American volcanoes to the northwest and southeast. The only indicators of hydrothermal activity at the volcano are intermittently observed gas bubbles in Laguna Cosigüina and a hot spring along the eastern flank of the volcano. The fairly uniform vegetation cover on the volcano's sides also attests to a general lack of gas emissions or “hot spots” on the 872-meter-high cone.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Cosigüina". Global Volcanism Program. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2008-09-07.
  2. .
  3. ^ Berkeley Earth Releases New Analysis Archived 2012-10-21 at the Wayback Machine, 29 July 2012

Notes

External links

Media related to Cosigüina at Wikimedia Commons