The volcano Tacaná is the second highest peak in Central America at , located in the Sierra Madre de Chiapas of northern Guatemala and southern

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. It is also known in Mexico as ''Volcán Tacina''.

Geography

The volcano is located within the

Tacaná Tacaná is a town and municipality in the Guatemalan department of San Marcos. History In 1690, Tejutla had a large area and included the modern municipalities of Comitancillo, Ixchiguán, Concepción Tutuapa, Sipacapa, Sibinal, Taj ...

municipality of the

San Marcos Department San Marcos is a department in northwestern Guatemala, on the Pacific Ocean and along the western Guatemala-Mexico border. The department's capital is the city of San Marcos. History Colonial period The Spanish conquest of Guatemalan Highla ...

in Guatemala; and within the Cacahoatán and Unión Juárez Municipalities of Chiapas state in Mexico. Its last known eruption was registered in 1986 — a small phreatic eruption in May — but it is still considered as dangerous to more than 250,000 people residing in the area. Central America volcanic belt

Tacaná is the first of hundreds of volcanoes in a km row, arranged NW to SE, parallel to the Pacific Ocean coast of

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

, known as the

Central America Volcanic Arc The Central American Volcanic Arc (often abbreviated to CAVA) is a chain of volcanoes which extends parallel to the Pacific coastline of the Central American Isthmus, from Mexico to Panama. This volcanic arc, which has a length of 1,100 kilometer ...

, formed by an active subduction zone along the western boundary of the

Caribbean Plate The Caribbean Plate is a mostly oceanic tectonic plate underlying Central America and the Caribbean Sea off the north coast of South America. Roughly 3.2 million square kilometers (1.2 million square miles) in area, the Caribbean Plate borders ...

. The agricultural valley at its NNE foothills is covered with thick deposits of

lahars A lahar (, from jv, ꦮ꧀ꦭꦲꦂ) is a violent type of mudflow or debris flow composed of a slurry of pyroclastic material, rocky debris and water. The material flows down from a volcano, typically along a river valley. Lahars are extremel ...

. From its

headwaters The headwaters of a river or stream is the farthest place in that river or stream from its estuary or downstream confluence with another river, as measured along the course of the river. It is also known as a river's source. Definition The ...

in Guatemala, the valley drains through Mexico to the Pacific Ocean. Consequently, mudflows from future

eruptions Several types of volcanic eruptions—during which lava, tephra (ash, lapilli, volcanic bombs and volcanic blocks), and assorted gases are expelled from a volcanic vent or fissure—have been distinguished by volcanologists. These are often ...

could be dangerous to those in their path in both countries.

Volcanology

Tacaná is a stratovolcano (composite volcano) that is surrounded by deeply

dissected Dissection (from Latin ' "to cut to pieces"; also called anatomization) is the dismembering of the body of a deceased animal or plant to study its anatomical structure. Autopsy is used in pathology and forensic medicine to determine the cause ...

plutonic Intrusive rock is formed when magma penetrates existing rock, crystallizes, and solidifies underground to form '' intrusions'', such as batholiths, dikes, sills, laccoliths, and volcanic necks.Intrusive RocksIntrusive rocks accessdate: March ...

and

metamorphic Metamorphic rocks arise from the transformation of existing rock to new types of rock in a process called metamorphism. The original rock (protolith) is subjected to temperatures greater than and, often, elevated pressure of or more, causi ...

terrain. It has a wide

caldera A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcano eruption. When large volumes of magma are erupted over a short time, structural support for the rock above the magma chamber is ...

, with its elongated summit dominated by several

lava domes In volcanology, a lava dome is a circular mound-shaped protrusion resulting from the slow extrusion of viscous lava from a volcano. Dome-building eruptions are common, particularly in convergent plate boundary settings. Around 6% of erupti ...

and three large calderas breached to the South. Mild

phreatic eruptions A phreatic eruption, also called a phreatic explosion, ultravulcanian eruption or steam-blast eruption, occurs when magma heats ground water or surface water. The extreme temperature of the magma (anywhere from ) causes near-instantaneous evapo ...

of Tacaná took place in historical times. Its most powerful known explosive activity, which included

pyroclastic flows A pyroclastic flow (also known as a pyroclastic density current or a pyroclastic cloud) is a fast-moving current of hot gas and volcanic matter (collectively known as tephra) that flows along the ground away from a volcano at average speeds of b ...

, occurred at about 70 AD (± 100 years). That large explosion has resulted in Tacaná being classified with a volcanic explosivity index of 4 by the Smithsonian

National Museum of Natural History The National Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. It has free admission and is open 364 days a year. In 2021, with 7 ...

Global Volcanism Program The Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanism Program (GVP) documents Earth's volcanoes and their eruptive history over the past 10,000 years. The mission of the GVP is to document, understand, and disseminate information about global volcanic a ...

Biosphere Reserve

Tacaná is part of the Central American Core volcanic chain, which contains fragile ecosystems and rich biodiversity of cultural, scientific, economic and biological relevance, particularly in the high mountain ecosystem. Its landscapes and volcanic edifice present geophysical features of great scientific and aesthetic value. Consequently, it has been included in

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

World Network of Biosphere Reserves The UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR) covers internationally designated protected areas, known as biosphere reserves, which are meant to demonstrate a balanced relationship between people and nature (e.g. encourage sustainable de ...

of the Man and Biosphere Program (MAB).

Visitor access

The summit of Tacaná can be reached in about 10 hours. There are two approaches to the mountain. One is from Finca Navidad, South of the volcano, passing through Tojquián Grande, on the Guatemalan side, and moving parallel to the border with Mexico. The second route is from the Mexican side, from El Carmen, Talismán bridge, Cacahoatán, and Unión Juárez by vehicle, and from there on foot. This route passes into Guatemala and has been described as one of the most interesting hikes in Central America, leading up winding paths through lush rainforests, subsistence farming villages, up ancient magma flows, and rock-filled temperate forests before reaching the top of the lowest caldera. From there the final stretch to the summit provides panoramic views high above the clouds as the tree line gradually diminishes with altitude. Several major volcanos within the Central American Volcanic Arch including

Tajumulco Tajumulco is a municipality in the San Marcos department of Guatemala. History Colonial era In 1690, Tejutla had a large area and included the modern municipalities of Comitancillo, Ixchiguán, Concepción Tutuapa, Sipacapa, Sibinal, Taju ...

are visible from the summit.

References

External links