- Address: Nevado del Ruiz, Villamaría, Caldas, Colombia
- Height above sea level: 5311 m
- The last eruption: 2016.
On the territory of Colombia is one of the most dangerous volcanoes on the planet, called Nevado del Ruiz (El Mesa de Herveo) or simply Ruiz. It has a laminated type, a conical shape and consists of a large amount of tephra, ash and hardened lava.
General information
On the territory of Colombia is one of the most dangerous volcanoes on the planet, called Nevado del Ruiz (El Mesa de Herveo) or simply Ruiz. It has a laminated type, a conical shape and consists of a large amount of tephra, ash and hardened lava.
General information
Before you go to Colombia, tourists are wondering about what the Ruiz volcano is - active or extinct. The mountain retains its activity for 2 million years. The last eruption occurred here in 2016. In the risk zone, there are constantly more than 500 thousand people who live in the surrounding areas.
To answer the question of where the Ruiz Volcano is, one should look at the map of the world. It shows that the landmark is located in northwestern Colombia, near Bogotá . It lies in the Andes (Central Cordillera), and its maximum point is covered by glaciers and reaches a mark of 5311 m above sea level.
Ruiz belongs to the Pacific Ring, which includes the most active volcanoes of our planet. It was formed in the subduction zone and is characterized by eruptions of the Plinian type. They have pyroclastic flows that can melt the ice and form Lahars, which are the streams of clay, mud and stones.
Description of the volcano
The Ruiz cone unites 5 lava domes that appeared during the periods of previous activities. Together they occupy an area of more than 200 square meters. km. At the top of the volcano is the crater Arenas, whose diameter is 1 km, and the depth is 240 m. The slopes here are quite steep, the angle of their inclination is 20-30 °. They are covered with dense forests and lakes.
Territorially Ruiz belongs to the National Park Los Nevados , which has a large supply of fresh water. The vegetative and animal life of the volcano varies with height. Here you can find:
- alpine meadows;
- dwarf forests;
- beans, laurel and litter trees.
From mammals in the given territory it is possible to see a tapir, a spectacled bear, an Ervei jarlequin and 27 endemic bird species. The surrounding mountains are used to grow coffee, corn, sugar cane and farm animals.
Mountaineering is very common here. For the first time Ruiz climbed in 1936, and 2 athletes from Germany named A. Grasser and V. Kaneto could conquer it. After the retreat of the glacier, it became much easier.
Destructive eruptions
Throughout its history, Ruiz volcano has been active several times. For the first time, the eruption occurred more than 1.8 million years ago. Since then, there are 3 main periods:
- elementary;
- old;
- modern.
In 1985, Colombia erupted Ruiz volcano, which is considered the most destructive in South America. It began on the evening of November 13, dacitic tephra was thrown into the atmosphere at an altitude of about 30 km. The total mass of magma and associated material was 35 million tons.
Lava flows melted the glaciers and formed 4 Lahars, which headed down the slopes of the volcano at a speed of 60 km / h. They destroyed absolutely everything in their path and completely destroyed the town of Armero. During the eruption, more than 23,000 locals died and approximately 5,000 people were injured of varying severity. This is one of the largest natural disasters in our history.
In May 2016, another eruption of the Ruiz volcano occurred. The ash column rose to the sky for 2.3 km. No human casualties were recorded.
How to get there?
The Ruiz volcano lies in the territory of two departments: Tolima and Caldas. To reach it is most convenient only from the city of Manizales on the highway Letras-Manizales / Vía Panamericana and Vía al Parque Nacional Los Nevados. The distance is 40 km.