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19-521: The Río Madre Vieja ( Spanish pronunciation: [ˈmaðɾe ˈβjexa] ) is a river in southwest Guatemala. Its sources are located in the Sierra Madre mountain range, on the border of the departments of El Quiché , Sololá , and Chimaltenango . It flows southwards through the coastal lowlands of Suchitepéquez and Escuintla to the Pacific Ocean . The Madre Vieja river basin covers

38-672: A chain of volcanoes stretching from the northwest to the southeast along the Pacific coast of Central America , formed by the tectonic subduction of the Cocos Tectonic Plate beneath the Caribbean Plate . Pacaya lies on the southern edge of a sizable volcanic caldera formed in the Pleistocene age which contains Lago de Amatitlán . This caldera has been the source of at least nine very large explosions over

57-606: A fee of about100 Quetzales to enter the park. In 1998, several explosive eruptions emitted lava, debris and ash columns with a height of 1,500 m (4,900 ft) to 5,000 m (16,000 ft). The ash fall affected nearby cities including Guatemala city and La Aurora International Airport . During 2006, a slight increase in Pacaya's volcanic activity brought about the creation of several lava rivers that slowly flowed down its slope. Word about these phenomena spread, and local tourism increased significantly. On May 27, 2010,

76-787: A line well south of the range, where over twenty volcanoes form five clusters. Between the Sierra Madre and the Volcanic line lies a central plateau. Pacaya Pacaya is an active complex volcano in Guatemala , which first erupted approximately 23,000 years ago and has erupted at least 23 times since the Spanish conquest of Guatemala . It rises to an elevation of 2,552 metres (8,373 ft). After being dormant for over 70 years, it began erupting vigorously in 1961 and has been erupting frequently since then. Much of its activity

95-522: A red alert for the communities near the volcano and recommended the evacuation of some of them. Noti7 reporter Anibal Archila, one of the first to cover the event, was reportedly killed by volcanic debris. President Álvaro Colom declared a state of calamity in the region adjacent to the volcano, and the Ministry of Education closed the schools in the departments of Guatemala, Escuintla, and Sacatepequez. Heavy rainfall from Tropical Storm Agatha worsened

114-577: A rule, farther south. East of Volcán Tacana (4,092 metres) which marks the Mexican frontier, the principal volcanoes are Tajumulco (4,220 meters); Santa Maria (3,777 meters), which erupted in October 1902, after centuries of quiescence, in which its slopes had been overgrown by dense forests; Atitlan (3,557 meters), overlooking Lake Atitlan ; Acatenango (3,976 meters); Fuego (i.e. "fire," 3,763 metres), which received its name from its activity at

133-630: A territory of 1,007 square kilometres (389 sq mi). This article related to a river in Guatemala is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Sierra Madre de Chiapas The range runs northwest–southeast from the state of Chiapas in Mexico , across western Guatemala , into El Salvador and Honduras . Most of the volcanoes of Guatemala, part of the Central America Volcanic Arc , are within

152-405: Is Strombolian , but occasionally Plinian eruptions also occur, sometimes showering the area of the nearby Departments with ash. Pacaya is a popular tourist attraction. It is even the home to the popular Guatemala Impact Marathon which pioneered the use of a running route across the lava field created by the 2010 eruption and supports the local communities through runners endeavouring to complete

171-462: Is not a well-defined crest, but is often rounded or flattened into a table-land. The direction of the great volcanic cones, which rise in an irregular line above it, is not identical with the main axis of the Sierra itself, except near the Mexican frontier, but has a more southerly trend, especially towards El Salvador. The base of many of the volcanic igneous peaks rests among the southern foothills in

190-516: The Spanish conquest , producing basalt and basaltic andesite . About 1,100  years ago the volcano's edifice collapsed, causing a huge landslide . Deposits from the landslide travelled about 25 kilometres (16 mi) from the volcano down to the Pacific coastal plain . The landslide left a large crater, within which the current active cone has grown. The presence of a magma chamber at shallow depths beneath Pacaya means that distortion of

209-608: The challenge . It lies 30 kilometers (19 miles) southwest of Guatemala City and close to Antigua . The volcano sits inside the Escuintla Department . Volcano Boarding is also practiced on the craters of Pacaya. Villagers near Pacaya ignored an evacuation request as the volcano threw ash into the air in March 2021. The Pacaya volcano is a part of the Central American Volcanic Arc ,

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228-442: The Pacaya volcano erupted, followed by several tremors. At approximately 20:00 hours there was a strong eruption ejecting debris and ash columns up to 1,500 metres (4,900 ft). Ash rained down in many Guatemalan cities to the northwest of the volcano, including Guatemala City. The volcanic ash fall pelted Guatemala City, and the international airport , La Aurora . The National Coordinator for Disaster Reduction (CONRED) declared

247-557: The Pacific side the distance to the sea is short, and the streams, while very numerous, are consequently small and rapid. A few of the streams of the Pacific slopes rise in the Guatemalan Highlands , and force a way through the Sierra Madre at the bottom of deep ravines. On the eastern side a number of the rivers of the Atlantic slopes attain a considerable volume and size. The Sierra Madre moist forests ecoregion covers

266-540: The cone leading to instability and future landslides remains a hazard to the surrounding areas. With its almost continuous activity, the volcano has been a popular location for tourism , and is easily accessible from Guatemala City and from Antigua. Pacaya and the surrounding area now lie within the Pacaya National Park , which was created to supervise and protect tourism in this region. The Pacaya Park generates its income from tour groups who are charged

285-428: The past 300,000 years, erupting a total of about 70 cubic kilometres (17 cu mi) of magma . After the last caldera-forming eruption 23,000 years ago, several smaller vents within and around the caldera have seen eruptive activity. Pacaya is the largest post-caldera volcano, and has been one of Central America's most active volcanoes over the last 500 years. It has erupted at least 23 times since

304-552: The range. A narrow coastal plain lies south of the range, between the Sierra Madre and the Pacific Ocean . To the north lie a series of highlands and depressions, including the Chiapas Depression, which separates the Sierra Madre from the Chiapas Plateau , the Guatemalan Highlands , and Honduras' interior highlands. The range forms the main drainage divide between the Pacific and Atlantic river systems. On

323-470: The southern region of the range. It is, however, impossible to subdivide the Sierra Madre into a northern and a volcanic chain; for the volcanoes are isolated by stretches of comparatively low country; at least thirteen considerable streams flow down through them, from the main watershed to the sea. Viewed from the coast, the volcanic cones seem to rise directly from the central heights of the Sierra Madre, above which they tower; but in reality their bases are, as

342-402: The southern slopes of the mountains. The mountains intercept winds from the Pacific, creating fog, clouds, and orographic precipitation that sustain the ecoregion's cloud forests. The Central American pine–oak forests ecoregion covers the Sierra's high peaks and northern slopes. It is known near Guatemala city as the Sierra de las Nubes, and enters Mexico as the Sierra de Istatan. Its summit

361-517: The time of the Spanish conquest; Agua (i.e. "water," 3,765 meters), so named in 1541 because it destroyed the former capital of Guatemala with a deluge of water from its flooded crater; and Pacaya (2,550 metres), a group of igneous peaks which were in eruption in 1870. East of the Guatemalan border, the range forms the boundary between El Salvador and Honduras. In El Salvador, the volcanoes form

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