Through the territory of Colombia , the mountains of the Andes pass. In the southern part of the country, the massif branches into 3 parallel ridges, called the Eastern, Western and Central Cordilleras. This territory is characterized by high seismicity and a large number of volcanoes, extinct and active. The latter cause significant damage to agriculture and the population.
Through the territory of Colombia , the mountains of the Andes pass. In the southern part of the country, the array branches into 3 parallel ridges, called the Eastern, Western and Central Cordilleras. This territory is characterized by high seismicity and a large number of volcanoes, extinct and active. The latter cause significant damage to agriculture and the population.
The most famous volcanoes of Colombia
In the country there are several volcanoes, which are mountain peaks with craters. They are a part of national parks and reserves , and on their slopes there live a variety of animals and grow rare plants. The peaks are admired by climbers and nature lovers visit. The most famous volcanoes of Colombia are:
- Nevado del Huila (Nevado del Huila) - is located in the departments of Tolima, Uila and Cauca. It is a massive mountain, the top of which is at an altitude of 5365 m. It has an elongated shape and is covered with ice. The volcano slept for about 500 years, and in 2007 began to show activity in the form of ash and earthquake emissions. In April there was an eruption of Nevado del Huila: there were no casualties, and about 4000 residents were evacuated from the nearest settlements.
- Kumbal is an active stratovolcano, which is considered the southernmost in the country and belongs to the department of Nariño. Its height above sea level is 4764 m, and the slopes are covered with numerous craters and lava flows. The shape of the mountain is a truncated cone, crowned by the extrusion of dacite.
- Cerro Machín - is located in the central western part of the state, is a part of the National Park Los Nevados and belongs to the department of Tolima. Stratovolcano consists of several peaks, the highest of which reaches 2750 m above sea level. It has the shape of a cone and is composed of many layers of ash, tephra and hardened lava. Around the huge number of settlements, so this mountain is one of the most dangerous on the planet. Its activity increased in 2004, with the last eruption occurring at the beginning of the 13th century.
- Nevado del Ruiz (Nevado del Ruiz or El Mesa de Herveo) - ranks first among the most dangerous active volcanoes in South America. In Colombia it is called "deadly", since in 1985 the volcano claimed the lives of more than 23 thousand people (Tragedy Armero). There is a mountain in the areas of Tolima and Caldas, its peak reaches 5400 m above sea level. It is wrapped in centuries-old glaciers, has the shape of a cone, belongs to the Plinian type and consists of huge layers of tephra, pyroclastic rocks and hardened lava. The age of Nevado del Ruiz exceeds 2 million years.
- Azufral (Azufral de Tuquerres) - stratovolcano, which is located on the territory of the department of Nariño. Its peak reaches 4070 m. Near the mountains a complex of lava domes and a caldera with a diameter of 2.5-3 km was formed. They arose in the Holocene period (approximately 3,600 years ago). On the other side of Azufral is Lake Laguna Verde. In 1971, there were tremors there (about 60 times), and fumarolic activity was recorded on the slopes.
- Cerro Bravo (Cerro Bravo) - is located on the territory of the National Park Los Nevados and belongs to the department of Tolima. Stratovolcano was formed during the Pleistocene, is composed mainly of dacites and reaches a height of 4000 m. The last time it erupted approximately in the XVIII-XIX centuries. No written confirmation has been preserved, but this fact is indicated by radiocarbon analysis. Today, the mountain is characterized by ejections of pyroclastic flows, as a result of which a kind of dome formed here.
- Cerro Negro de Mayasquer (Cerro Negro de Mayasquer) - is located in the department of Nariño, on the border with the state of Ecuador . At the top of the mountain there is a cone, where there is a caldera, open to the west. In the crater formed a small lake, along the banks of which there are numerous fumaroles. The last time stratovolcano erupted in 1936. True, scientists are not exactly sure that the activity was shown by Cerro Negro de Mayasker, not the neighboring Reventador.
- Doña Juana - located in the department of Nariño, consists of 2 calderas and has access to the south-west and north-east. It is an andesite-dacite volcano, the summit of which unites several lava domes. He was active from 1897 to 1906, when the growth of the dome was accompanied by large-scale pyroclastic flows. During the eruption, more than 100 people died from nearby settlements. The volcano is still considered active.
- Romeral (Romeral) - this is the northernmost stratovolcano on the continent, located near the city of Aransasu in the department of Caldas. It belongs to the Ruiz Tolima massif, and the igneous rock consists of andesite and dacite. The volcano is characterized by eruptions of the Plynian type, which resulted in deposits of pumice, separated by a layer of soil.
- Sotara (Volcán Sotará) - is located in the province of Cauca, near the town of Popayán and belongs to the Central Cordillera. The height of the volcano is 4580 m above sea level. It has 3 calderas, which give it an irregular shape. On the slope there is the source of the river Patia. The mountain retains hydrothermal and fumarolic activity, and the monitoring station constantly registers also seismic activity.
- Galeras (Galeras) - is located in the department of Nariño, near the town of Pasto. It is a powerful and large volcano with a height of 4276 m. The diameter of the base is more than 20 km, and the crater is equal to 320 m. The lake formed in it has a depth of about 80 m. During the last eruption in 1993, 9 people were killed on top (6 researchers and 3 tourists). In subsequent years, no casualties were observed, but people were evacuated twice from the risk zone.
- Nevado del Tolima - was formed 40 thousand years ago, with the last eruption occurred in 1600 BC. Stratovulkan is located in the territory of the National Park Los Nevados, in the department of Tolima. Its slopes are covered with bushes and meadows, on which animals graze. It is most convenient to get to the mountain from the city of Ibague.
- Purase (Puracé) is an active volcano located on the territory of the National Park of the same name in the Central Cordillera, in the province of Cauca. Its maximum point is at an altitude of 4756 m. The top of the mountain is covered with snow and has a conical shape. The crater is characterized by a multitude of fumaroles and sulfuric thermal springs. In the XX century, there were 12 eruptions.