Volcán Tajumulco is a large
stratovolcano
A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a typically conical volcano built up by many alternating layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile with ...
in the department of
San Marcos in western
Guatemala
Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...
. It is the highest mountain in
Central America
Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...
at . It is part of the mountain range of the
Sierra Madre de Chiapas, which begins in
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
's southernmost state of
Chiapas
Chiapas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas, is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. It comprises Municipalities of Chiapas, 124 municipalities and its capital and large ...
.
[Tajumulco Volcano]
" Britannica Library, Encyclopædia Britannica, 27 February 2012. Accessed 22 April 2017
Description
Tajumulco is composed of
andesitic
Andesite () is a volcanic rock of intermediate composition. In a general sense, it is the intermediate type between silica-poor basalt and silica-rich rhyolite. It is fine-grained (aphanitic) to porphyritic in texture, and is composed predomina ...
-
dacitic lavas on the top of a large escarpment of uncertain origin. It has two summits, one of which has a crater wide. A lava flow from the north-western summit descends into a steep valley on the same side of the volcano.
The volcano's eruptive history is unclear and the date of its last eruption unknown. Reports from the 18th and early 19th century claim to record eruptions but these are considered unlikely.
The region around Tajumulco is relatively sparsely populated.
The nearest town is
San Marcos, located to the south-east.
Although it is infrequently visited,
the volcano can be climbed in about five hours from the hamlet of Tuichán. Views are variable as the area is frequently covered in mist and cloud, with conditions at their least favorable between April and September.
See also
*
List of mountain peaks of North America
**
List of mountain peaks of Central America
***
List of volcanoes in Guatemala
*
List of elevation extremes by country
The following sortable table lists land surface elevation extremes by country or dependent territory.
Topographic elevation is the vertical distance above the reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential ...
Notes
References
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Tajamulco
Sierra Madre de Chiapas
San Marcos Department
Volcan Tajumulco
Volcano
A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface.
On Earth, volcanoes are most oft ...
Tajumulco
Volcan Tajumulco
Highest points of countries