Volcán Tacaná
Encyclopedia
The Tacaná Volcano is the second highest peak in Central America at 4060 metres (13,320 ft). It is located in the Tacaná
Tacaná
Tacaná is a municipality in the Guatemalan department of San Marcos....

 municipality of the Guatemalan department
Departments of Guatemala
||Guatemala is divided into 22 departments :#Alta Verapaz#Baja Verapaz#Chimaltenango#Chiquimula#Petén#El Progreso#El Quiché#Escuintla#Guatemala#Huehuetenango#Izabal#Jalapa#Jutiapa#Quetzaltenango#Retalhuleu#Sacatepéquez...

 of San Marcos, and in Cacahoatán
Cacahoatán
Cacahoatán is a town and one of the 119 Municipalities of Chiapas, in southern Mexico.As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 39,033. It covers an area of 173.9 km²....

 Municipality and Unión Juárez Municipality in the Mexican state of Chiapas
Chiapas
Chiapas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas is one of the 31 states that, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 118 municipalities and its capital city is Tuxtla Gutierrez. Other important cites in Chiapas include San Cristóbal de las...

.

The volcano is also known in Mexico as Volcán Tacina.

Its last known eruption was registered in 1986 — a small phreatic eruption
Phreatic eruption
A phreatic eruption, also called a phreatic explosion or ultravulcanian eruption, occurs when rising magma makes contact with ground or surface water. The extreme temperature of the magma causes near-instantaneous evaporation to steam, resulting in an explosion of steam, water, ash, rock, and...

 in May — but it is still considered as dangerous for more than 250,000 people.

Geography

Tacaná is the first of hundreds of volcanoes in a 1500 km (932.1 mi) km row, arranged NW to SE, parallel to the Pacific Ocean coast of Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...

, known as the Central America Volcanic Arc, formed by an active subduction zone along the western boundary of the Caribbean Plate
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....

.

The agricultural valley at its NNE foothills is covered with thick deposits of lahars. From its headwaters in Guatemala, the valley drains through Mexico to the Pacific Ocean. Consequently, mudflows from future eruptions could be dangerous to those in their path in both countries.

Volcanology

Tacaná is a stratovolcano
Stratovolcano
A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a tall, conical volcano built up by many layers of hardened lava, tephra, pumice, and volcanic ash. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile and periodic, explosive eruptions...

 (composite volcano) that is surrounded by deeply dissected
Dissected plateau
A dissected plateau is a plateau area that has been severely eroded so that the relief is sharp. Such an area may be referred to as mountainous, but dissected plateaus are distinguishable from orogenic mountain belts by the lack of folding, metamorphism, extensive faulting, or magmatic activity...

 plutonic and metamorphic terrain. It has a 9 km (5.6 mi) wide caldera
Caldera
A caldera is a cauldron-like volcanic feature usually formed by the collapse of land following a volcanic eruption, such as the one at Yellowstone National Park in the US. They are sometimes confused with volcanic craters...

, with its elongated summit dominated by several lava domes and three large calderas breached to the South.

Mild phreatic eruptions of Tacaná took place in historical times. Its most powerful known explosive activity, which included pyroclastic flows, 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
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. Admission is free and the museum is open 364 days a year....

's Global Volcanism Program
Global Volcanism Program
The Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanism Program documents Earth's volcanoes and their eruptive history over the past 10,000 years. The GVP reports on current eruptions from around the world as well as maintaining a database repository on active volcanoes and their eruptions. In this way, a...

.

Biosphere Reserve

Tacaná Volcano 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
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...

's World Network of Biosphere Reserves
World Network of Biosphere Reserves
The UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves covers internationally-designated protected areas, known as biosphere reserves, that are meant to demonstrate a balanced relationship between man and nature The UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves covers internationally-designated protected...

 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 Mexico side, from El Carmen, Talismán bridge, Cacahoatán and Unión Juárez by vehicle, and from there on foot.

See also

  • 4000 meter peaks of México
  • 4000 meter peaks of North America
  • List of volcanoes in Guatemala
  • Mountain peaks of México
    Mountain peaks of Mexico
    This article comprises three sortable tables of the major mountain peaks of Mexico.Topographic elevation is the vertical distance above the reference geoid, a precise mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface. Topographic prominence is the elevation...

  • Mountain peaks of North America
    Mountain peaks of North America
    This article comprises three sortable tables of major mountain peaks of greater North America.This article defines greater North America as the portion of the continental landmass of the Americas extending northward from Panama plus the islands surrounding that landmass...


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