Nevado del Tolima
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Nevado del Tolima | |
---|---|
Nevado del Tolima in 1985 |
|
Elevation | 5,200+ metres (17,060 feet) |
Location | Colombia |
Range | Cordillera Central |
Coordinates | |
Type | Stratovolcano |
Volcanic arc/belt | Andean Volcanic Belt |
Last eruption | 1943 |
Nevado del Tolima is a volcano located in Tolima Department, Colombia, south of Nevado del Ruiz volcano.
The steep-sided, glacier-clad Nevado del Tolima volcano contrasts with the broad profile of Nevado del Ruiz volcano to the north. The andesitic-dacitic younger Tolima volcano formed during the past 40,000 years, rising above and largely obscuring a 3-km-wide late-Pleistocene caldera. The summit consists of a cluster of late-Pleistocene to Holocene lava domes that were associated with thick block-lava flows on the northern and eastern flanks and extensive pyroclastic-flow deposits. The summit contains a funnel-shaped crater 200-300 m deep. Holocene activity has included explosive eruptions ranging in size from moderate to plinian. The last major eruption took place about 3600 years ago. Lava dome growth has produced block-and-ash flows that traveled primarily to the NE and SE. Minor explosive eruptions have been recorded from Tolima in the 19th and 20th centuries.