Authorities in Nicaragua have reported an eruption on Mount Momotombo, a volcano in the east of the country, on Tuesday 1 December 2015. The eruption produced a column of gas and ash that rose about a kilometer over the summit of the volcano, and people in several nearby villages have reported ill effects caused by gasses from the event. This is the first explosive eruption on the volcano since 1905. Though a small lava flow was recorded in 1980 and Earthquakes and gas emissions have been recorded on several occasions since. Although eruptions on Momotombo are rare, they can be severe and are a cause for concern. In 1610 an eruption on the volcano led to the destruction of the city of León on the shore of Lago de Managua, and while it was rebuilt as the modern city of León about 30 km to the west, the modern town of Puerto Momotombo has grown around the ruins.
Ash column over Mount Momotombo on 1 December 2015. ACAN-EFE.
Nicaragua is located on the southern edge of the Caribbean Plate, which underlies Central America as well as the Caribbean Sea. To the south the Cocos Plate, which underlies part of the eastern Pacific, is being subducted beneath the Caribbean Plate along the Middle American Trench, passing under Central America as it is sinks into the Earth. As it is subducted the Cocos Plate is being partially melted by the heat of the planet's interior and the friction caused by its dragging under the Caribbean Plate, producing liquid magma, which then rises through the overlying plate fueling the volcanoes of Central America.
Diagrammatic representation of the Cocos Plate passing beneath the Central American Plate, showing how it fuels the volcanoes of Central America. VCS Mining.
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