Volcanos in Colombia
At 5 volcanos in Colombia there have been a total of 9 siginificant eruptions over the past 2000 years. Over 24800 people were killed. The worst volcanic eruption in terms of deaths, destroyed houses and financial damages happened on 11/13/1985 at the volcano "Ruiz". Only here 23080 people died.6 of 10 volcanos in Colombia are considered as still active.
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Significant volcanic eruptions in Colombia over the past 2000 years
The following list shows all volcanoes of the last 2000 years with significant damage. The column "VEI" stands for the volcano explosivity index, which represents the strength of the eruption from a geological point of view. This takes into account the height and volume of the rocks ejected. The scale ranges from 0-8, with the severity of the outbreak increasing tenfold with each value. For example, a VEI of 1 means that the volcano throws lava and rock masses of 100,000 to 1 million cubic metres up to 1 kilometre high. From VEI 8 a volcano is considered a super volcano. Here, more than 1000 cubic kilometers of tephra are thrown to altitudes of more than 25 kilometers.The highest explosivity index in Colombia was reached in the review period at VEI 4 in 1899. The volcano Dona Juana The volcano Klaus threw tephramasses of at least 100 million cubic meters over 10 kilometers high. Volcanoes of this size do not normally erupt more frequently than every 10 years.
| Eruption | Volcano | VEI | Deaths | Total damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11/20/2008 | Huila | 0 | 10 | |
| 04/18/2007 | Huila | 0 | 0 | |
| 01/14/1993 | Galeras | 2 | 9 | |
| 11/13/1985 | Ruiz | 3 | 23080 | |
| 05/26/1949 | Purace | 2 | 17 | |
| 11/13/1899 | Dona Juana | 4 | 55 | |
| 05/25/1885 | Purace | 3 | 0 | |
| 02/19/1845 | Ruiz | 3 | 1000 | |
| 03/12/1595 | Ruiz | 4 | 636 |
All volcanos in Colombia
| Volcano | Elevation | Status | Last eruption |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sotara | 4580 m | Potentially active | |
| Purace | 4600 m | Active | 05/26/1949 |
| Nevado del Tolima | 5215 m | Active | |
| Nevado del Ruiz | 5400 m | Active | |
| Nevado del Huila | 5750 m | Solfatara stage | |
| Mesa Nevada deHerveo | 5590 m | Solfatara stage | |
| Machin | 2750 m | Solfatara stage | |
| Galeras | 4482 m | Active | 01/14/1993 |
| Dona Juana | 4250 m | Active | |
| Azufral de Tuquerres | 4070 m | Solfatara stage |
These statistics are based on datas from the Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanism Program (GVP), and the Significant Volcanic Eruptions Database of the National Geophysical Data Center (NOAA) / World Data Service (NGDC/WDS) doi:10.7289/V5JW8BSH. Several data have been summarized and translated. The photo above is from Pixabay.com (CC0).