1902 Eruption Of Santa María
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The 1902 eruption of Santa María was one of the largest eruptions of the 20th century, measuring a six on the
volcanic explosivity index The volcanic explosivity index (VEI) is a scale used to measure the size of explosive volcanic eruptions. It was devised by Christopher G. Newhall of the United States Geological Survey and Stephen Self in 1982. Volume of products, eruption c ...
. The main eruption began on 24 October 1902 and lasted no more than 20 hours. Prior to its catastrophic eruption, Santa María had no record of an eruption. The eruption killed between 5,000 and 8,700 people. Immediate knowledge about the eruption was suppressed by President
Manuel Estrada Cabrera Manuel José Estrada Cabrera (21 November 1857 – 24 September 1924) was the President of Guatemala from 1898 to 1920. A lawyer with no military background, he modernised the country's industry and transportation infrastructure, via granting c ...
due to the occurrence of a propaganda festival at around the same time of the eruption. Aid did not reach the affected areas immediately and only arrived in December.


Background

The formation of Santa María occurred approximately 30,000 years BP, constructing the present cone to a volume of . It comprise predominantly of basaltic andesites and pyroclastic material. It is part of a large volcanic belt that straddles the Pacific coast of Middle America. Prior to the 1902 eruption, there were no historical records of activity on the volcano. It was previously considered extinct. In early 1902, Guatemala was affected by a series of damaging earthquakes; the first in this sequence occurring on 18 January. This event affected
San Martín San Martín or San Martin may refer to: People Saints * Saint Martin (disambiguation)#People, name of various saints in Spanish Political leaders *Vicente San Martin (1839 -1901), Military, National hero of Mexico. *Basilio San Martin (1849 ...
and the country's Pacific coastal region. Quezaltenango and San Marcos were razed during the 18 April earthquake, which was also the largest of the sequence and killing 1,000 people. This event caused major damage to buildings and was felt in other countries. The epicenter of the April shock was thought to be near Santa María. A series of local earthquakes occurring with high frequency was felt within the volcano's vicinity for six weeks. Another major shock occurred on 23 September that was felt as far as
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
.


Eruption

On 24 October, slight earthquakes were perceived. Santa María began discharging steam in the afternoon, before rumbling noises were heard within its vicinity at 17:00. In San Felipe, the sound was described by people as either reminiscent of a waterfall or large boiler. These sounds emanated from the direction of the volcano and persisted for 30 minutes. At about the same period, people in Quezaltenango began to report a dark cloud from the volcano. As the evening progressed, a white sand-like substance began showering and blanketing the area, discoloring the landscape with its whitish color. At 18:15, ash particles were reported in Finca Helvetia, about west of the volcano. By 20:00, the volcano produced a large eruption column accompanied by lightning flashes. This column took on cauliflower-like shapes. Large
lithics Lithic may refer to: *Relating to stone tools ** Lithic analysis, the analysis of stone tools and other chipped stone artifacts ** Lithic core, the part of a stone which has had flakes removed from it ** Lithic flake, the portion of a rock removed ...
began to rain down the volcano's southern flanks at 01:00 of 25 October, signifying that the eruption had entered its
Plinian Plinian eruptions or Vesuvian eruptions are volcanic eruptions characterized by their similarity to the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, which destroyed the ancient Roman cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii. The eruption was described in a le ...
stage. Pea-sized
lapilli Lapilli (: lapillus) is a size classification of tephra, which is material that falls out of the air during a volcanic eruption or during some meteorite impacts. ''Lapilli'' is Latin for "little stones". By definition lapilli range from in dia ...
ash began to fall in Quezaltenango at 03:00. Meanwhile, in Finca Helvetia, pumice measuring and between began to rain onto the village at 03:00. The initial fallout was cold before hot pumice was introduced. The material in this fallout later included hot, fist-sized rocks and
lava bomb A volcanic bomb or lava bomb is a mass of partially molten rock (tephra) larger than 64 mm (2.5 inches) in diameter, formed when a volcano ejects viscosity, viscous fragments of lava during an eruption. Because volcanic bombs cool a ...
s. By 11:00, the eruption had reached its climax. The eruption persisted into the night, though its intensity gradually decreased. The main eruption ended before the morning of 26 October. Blasts were heard in Costa Rica, some southeast of the volcano. In
Oaxaca Oaxaca, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca, is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of the Mexico, United Mexican States. It is divided into municipalities of Oaxaca, 570 munici ...
and
Belize Belize is a country on the north-eastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a maritime boundary with Honduras to the southeast. P ...
, explosions could be heard. The eruption continued to shake windows in
Cobán Cobán (), fully Santo Domingo de Cobán, is the capital of the department of Alta Verapaz in central Guatemala. It also serves as the administrative center for the surrounding Cobán municipality. It is located 219 km from Guatemala City. A ...
until mid-day and its residents detected a sulphurous smell. The captain of the ''S.S. Newport'' used her
sextant A sextant is a doubly reflecting navigation instrument that measures the angular distance between two visible objects. The primary use of a sextant is to measure the angle between an astronomical object and the horizon for the purposes of cel ...
to measure the height of the eruption column and placed his estimation at . Another sailor measured the column at which has been deemed erroneous. The ash fallout made its way into
Motozintla Motozintla (Motozintla de Mendoza) is a city and municipality in the Mexican state of Chiapas in southern Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, ...
in Mexico, some northwest of the volcano, at 06:00. The ash travelled further into the country and reached Mexico City. The initial Plinian eruption ceased after 18 to 20 hours before another eruptive phase initiated in the early hours of 26 October. This new activity was
phreatomagmatic Phreatomagmatic eruptions are volcanic eruptions resulting from interaction between magma and water. They differ from exclusively magmatic eruptions and phreatic eruptions. Unlike phreatic eruptions, the products of phreatomagmatic eruptions conta ...
and accompanied by steam eruptions. Light steam explosions continued to occur in 1903. Earthquake activity was frequent and residents could detect the stench of hydrogen sulphide. During the course of the eruption, it generated a
dense-rock equivalent Dense-rock equivalent (DRE) is a volcanologic calculation used to estimate volcanic eruption volume. One of the widely accepted measures of the size of a historic or prehistoric eruption is the volume of magma ejected as pumice and volcanic ash, k ...
(DRE) volume of of magma. The
dacite Dacite () is a volcanic rock formed by rapid solidification of lava that is high in silica and low in alkali metal oxides. It has a fine-grained (aphanitic) to porphyritic texture and is intermediate in composition between andesite and rhyolite. ...
measured in DRE was estimated at . The tephra volume was estimated at 2.0 cubic meters. Unlike most large eruptions of its kind, Santa María's Plinian column did not collapse. The eruption also did not create a caldera although it expelled a large volume of magma. This was probably attributed to a deep-than-usual location for its magma chamber, which, during the 1902 eruption, was not entirely emptied. The Santiaguito lava dome which formed in 1922 had a nearly identical lava composition with the lava that erupted in 1902. Although a caldera did not form, a new, oval-shaped crater had emerged.
Karl Sapper Karl Theodor Sapper (6 February 1866 - 29 March 1945) was a German traveler, explorer, and antiquarian who is known for his research into the natural history, and cultures of Central America. Education Sapper studied geology in Munich and showed a ...
reported that three explorers visited the crater in late November. The explorers described a crater with an east-west axis of and was at its widest base diameter. It also extended to a depth of . The crater floor hosted six vents; the largest was circular and across, and situated in the center of the crater. The remaining vents were distributed along the edge of the crater and were constantly emitting steam. The second largest of these vents was actively spewing debris some into the air. A section of the volcano's flank was destroyed, exposing steep cliffs and revealing layers of lava flows and ash deposits extending high. This major scarp nearly reached the summit of the volcano. Large pieces of rocks were observed falling and accumulating at the bottom of the scarp in a
debris cone A debris cone consists of debris deposited in a conical shape with a surface slope greater than 10 degrees (perpendicular to contours), usually transported by small streams or snow avalanches. A debris cone is also called a dirt cone or cone of d ...
. They also estimated the crater wall's slope to be 60 degrees.


Impact

All trees and shrubs within a by area that stretched halfway towards the Pacific were stripped of its leaves and severely damaged by the rushing volcanic debris. Many trees were entirely uprooted, snapped at their branches; many others were also split by lightning. All vegetation was destroyed within a reach of the crater. Within a month of the eruption, new leaves began to sprout from undamaged tree branches. Coffee plants also began producing new branches as their existing ones were torn away by the eruption. Up to of ash covered the ground within the immediate vicinity of the explosion crater. Portions of coffee plantations in Xolhuitz, Costa Cuca, Chuva, Progreso and Tumbador were devastated and unrestored. The total losses for coffee was placed at over 300 thousand
quintal The quintal or centner is a historical unit of mass in many countries that is usually defined as 100 base units, such as pounds or kilograms. It is a traditional unit of weight in France, Portugal, and Spain and their former colonies. It is com ...
s. In areas where the native vegetation died, the leaves and berries of the
Liberian coffee ''Coffea liberica'', commonly known as the Liberian coffee, is a species of flowering plant in the family Rubiaceae from which coffee is produced. It is native to western and central Africa (from Liberia to Uganda and Angola), and has become nat ...
plants were unscathed. Though the
Arabian coffee ''Coffea arabica'' (), also known as the Arabica coffee, is a species of flowering plant in the coffee and madder family Rubiaceae. It is believed to be the first species of coffee to have been cultivated and is the dominant cultivar, represe ...
plants withered, their berries were salvaged for low-quality coffee. During the initial eruption phase, birds were observed in a dazed condition on roads. The stench of animal corpses rotting beneath volcanic debris was intense according to
Gustav Eisen Gustavus Augustus Eisen (August 2, 1847 − October 29, 1940) was a Swedish-American polymath. He became a member of California Academy of Sciences in 1874 and a Life Member in 1883. In 1893, he became the 'Curator of Archaeology, Ethnology, and ...
who reported the forest conditions in 1903. The loss of life among mammals was believed to be enormous, greater than that of avian creatures. Cattle also died in large numbers; some perished during the eruption or in the subsequent days from consuming ash-contaminated water and grass. Insects were among the fauna that recovered quicker; Eisen found butterflies, beetles, mosquitoes and flies in abundance. He also noticed ''zompopos'' ants, a species of
leafcutter ant Leafcutter ants are fungus-growing ants that share the behaviour of cutting leaves which they carry back to their nests to farm fungus. Next to humans, leafcutter ants form some of the largest and most complex animal societies on Earth. In a few ...
s carrying the buried brown soil towards the surface of ash. Blackbirds also returned to the area a month after the eruption. Estimates of the death toll range from 5,000 to 8,700. Those in close proximity to the crater likely died while many more were killed by roof collapses. Many buildings sustained collapsed roof due to the weight of ash it had collected. A malaria outbreak added to the fatalities. In Suiza, a building heavily occupied by those escaping the eruption collapsed under the accumulated ash, killing 18.


Aftermath

President
Manuel Estrada Cabrera Manuel José Estrada Cabrera (21 November 1857 – 24 September 1924) was the President of Guatemala from 1898 to 1920. A lawyer with no military background, he modernised the country's industry and transportation infrastructure, via granting c ...
attempted to downplay the impact of the eruption. The eruption occurred hours before the Fiestas Minervalias, a propaganda fair, was supposed to begin. The 26 October issue of ''
Diario de Centro América The ''Diario de Centro América'' is the newspaper of public record in Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize ...
'' was heavily focused on the festival while it made no mention of the eruption. No issues were published on 27 and 28 October due to the festival. The first story about the eruption was only published on 3 November. There were no official actions in attempting to calculate the number of fatalities and aid only reached the affected departments in December. While the eruption continued, the regional authorities of Quetzaltenango became responsible for handling the crisis, as attention of the national government was focused on Fiestas Minervalias. In an attempt to suppress the impact of the eruption, citizens were informed the eruption occurred in Mexico. Furthermore, the official government informed Quetzaltenango authorities that no funds were available for recovery, as were absorbed by the response missions following the April earthquake. Quetzaltenango regional authorities announced that the West zone agricultural harvest was destroyed, and forecasted a famine due to food shortages. The deaths of cattle also led to a meat shortage. They were allowed by the central government to import flour free of taxes for the next few months. On top of food shortages, the lack of water and power supply due to ash added to the turmoil of residents. It took several months for these services to be fully functional. Residents began to clear ash from their roofs to prevent further cave-ins. On 12 November, President Cabrera established the General Supply of Aid for Agriculture to support struggling farmers and the agricultural industry. In late November, Quetzaltenango officials allocated 15,000 pesos for cleaning works another 5,000 to repair its aqueducts.


See also

*
List of largest volcanic eruptions In a volcanic eruption, lava, volcanic bombs, ash, and various gases are expelled from a volcanic vent and Fissure vent, fissure. While many eruptions only pose dangers to the immediately surrounding area, Earth's largest eruptions can have a maj ...
*
List of volcanic eruptions by death toll Volcanic eruptions can be highly explosive. Some volcanoes have undergone catastrophic eruptions, killing large numbers of humans or other life forms. This list documents volcanic eruptions by human death toll. Volcanic eruptions See also * L ...
*
List of volcanoes in Guatemala This is a list of active, dormant, and extinct volcanoes in Guatemala. Volcanoes See also * Central America Volcanic Arc * List of volcanoes in El Salvador * List of volcanoes in Honduras * List of volcanoes in Mexico Footnotes Re ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Santa María 20th-century volcanic events VEI-6 eruptions 1902 in Guatemala October 1902 in North America Quetzaltenango Department 1902 natural disasters Manuel Estrada Cabrera Plinian eruptions