Paricutin Volcano

Location: 19.5N, 102.2W

Elevation: 10,400 feet (3,170 m)

Volcanologist don’t often get to see the birth, entire growth and the death of a volcano.

One of the very few volcanoes to provide this opportunity is Paricutin, in Mexico.

The eruption that began Paricutin started in 1940s and continued until 1952.

Paricutin

Most of the explosive activity happened during the very first year of the eruption when what is called the cone of the volcano grew upwards to about one thousand feet.

The cone once it began, continued to grow for another eight years, adding 300 more feet to its height.

On the second day of eruption great activity began and remained that way until the end of the eruption.

Red hot lava began to flow which covered more than ten miles, and it flowed incessantly.

The rate or the eruption began to decline fairly steadily then and within six months of the time the volcano would cease to exist, it increased again, and became particularly violent and disruptive.

The explosions were frequent and violent and the lava flow increased.

No one was killed by the actual lave flow, however the lightening which is associated with any volcano killed three people.

Find out more about Paricutin over at Wikipedia »