Celia Cadenas
Geology 1010
In a nearby area close to the city of Guatemala, The volcano “Pacaya” began to show
activity. This volcano is a tourist attraction for the whole world; a very well known volcano for
having continuous lava flow. People traveled from all over the world just to hike up and see the
exciting events that frequently happened. On the night of May 28, the volcano began to spit out
lava without hesitation, reaching about 1km in the air. Also the ash drifted about 3-4 km away
which disrupted everyday activity for the people like the closing of schools and the
international airport. It was also claimed to have lava flowing of about 100 mph. Because of
this event, the surrounding neighbors had to evacuate, and unfortunately there were a few
who went missing. Others were later found dead. The eruption was so intense that there were
other misfortunate deaths. Regardless of how many times the volcano had erupted the people
continue to live close by. After the calamity, the volcano allowed time to photograph and
capture evidence of the event.
Pacaya is located in the southern part of Guatemala in Central America. They call this
country “The Land of Eternal Spring” for the natural rainforest and the climate. In the center of
the country there are several active and non-active volcanoes. The Pacaya Volcano is
particularly very exciting because of its consistent lava flows.
When the Cocos Plate and the Caribbean Plate are forced together with stress, they
become a convergent plate(one plate overlapping the other), this area then becomes a
continental volcanic arc (this is what runs along Central America), which is the continental curst
subducting the oceanic crust; and meanwhile the wet surface of the plate being subducted
reaches the intense heat melting the rock. Since the melted rock is less dense, it starts to rise
within the layers of the continental crust and forms what’s called a Pluton (Magma filled bubble
within the earth). There are many chambers of magma along Guatemala’s western coast called
plutons. At any time a change of temperature, a chemical reaction or any other kind of change
can trigger an explosion from them. This is what happened to the Pacaya volcano.
I recently traveled to this wonderful area, where I was able to hike up the volcano. It’s
funny because the volcano happens to be a national park where an entrance fee of about $3 US
Dollars is charge just to get in. People from all over the world come to visit Pacaya; even some
of the best hiker who climb the tallest mountains. It’s always wise to make sure you pay
someone to watch your car because in the past it been known attrack thieves. The entrance of
the park makes you think it will be an easy hike up because of the lined cement stairs which
later convert into longer dirt stairs. It begins light and beautiful with trees all around; the trail
weaving back and forth. When you’re walking and it begins to rain, the land becomes slippery
and very hard to walk on the muddy trail. There are wonderful sites to see all around and
sometimes you find little creatures. Before you realize it you elevated to a point where there
are no trees and you’re able to view the land around the volcano. Also looking up from the
ridgecrest is a fantastic sight of the cone. Now when walking up the trail you’ll find ash from the
eroded lava rocks and past eruptions under you feet. This is not easy to walk on; it’s similar to
walking on sand. Also when you start the steep climb you’ll bump into loose lava rocks which
are sharp and can disfigure your shoes. At one point I wasn’t able to keep my balance and fell
on my hands on top of a lava rock, it was sharp and dangerous (a Pyroclastic Texture). It
frightened me when I thought of falling hard or even falling down the side of the volcano. As
you walk up the steep side you will find blobs of live red lava gushing out of what use to be a
flow of lava. It is really neat and interesting. The different shaped and sizes the lava forms are
amazing; worth sitting around for a while and taking pictures. Also you can hear the crackling
under your feet as you walk where the lava is still creeping beneath the cooled rock. It gives a
weird feeling knowing that at any moment you could fall right though that thin layer. By this
time you’re so exhausted from the climb that you just want to sit. I enjoyed taking pictures and
seeing the different birds flying in the area but it was interesting how they kept their distance in
some of the areas. While I rest I could smell the sulfur dioxide gas, which if you’re not careful
will become sulfuric acid in your lungs; something very dangerous. Getting to the top feels so
great and is so exciting. Looking into the crater was impactful. I felt a bit scared but at the same
time the hike well worth the time. During the time when I climbed up Pacaya, it was much
calmer than what recently happened in May of this year. There was what looked like a spring of
lava and two separate rivers that flowed from it. You could feel the hot vapors which in that
moment felt great because it had rained enough to get us wet. At the top we met a French
observer who mentioned he had been there every day for the last week and that the flow had
changed so much since the first day. He was extremely fascinated by it. The views are amazing,
beautiful and something you have to experience. After almost four hours (because our group
was slower than others) we had finally saw what the top was like. When it was time to head
back down the hike was much easier than going up. Instead of putting one foot in front of the
other and not getting very far, you could slide down in just a few steps. The only down part of
that was the ash entering into your shoe. Walking down and stepping off the ridgecrest you’re
able to reflect back on the adventure that you just experienced. It’s a good feeling of
accomplishment.
Pacaya, Guatemala’s most active volcano. It’s been active since the 60’s and has
produced many shows for the spectators. It has been an adventure for the travelers and
tourists. But most importantly, it has also been an educational site for students from all over
the world.