Concepción is one of two
volcano
A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface.
On Earth, volcanoes are most oft ...
es (along with
Maderas) that form the island of
Ometepe, which is situated in
Lake Nicaragua
Lake Nicaragua or Cocibolca or Granada (, , or ) is a freshwater lake in Nicaragua. Of tectonic origin and with an area of , it is the largest fresh water lake in Central America, the List of lakes by area, 19th largest lake in the world (by are ...
in
Nicaragua
Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...
,
Central America
Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...
.
Concepción is an active
stratovolcano
A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a typically conical volcano built up by many alternating layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile with ...
that forms the northwest part of the Isla de Ometepe. Concepción is tall and rests on a thick base of
Quaternary
The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS), as well as the current and most recent of the twelve periods of the ...
lacustrine mudstones. It is considered a "pristine" volcano because there has been no influence of other volcanoes on its growth, and its cone is highly symmetrical. The growth of the volcano comes in phases based on weaknesses of the crust that the volcano rests on. As it grows from additional
magma
Magma () is the molten or semi-molten natural material from which all igneous rocks are formed. Magma (sometimes colloquially but incorrectly referred to as ''lava'') is found beneath the surface of the Earth, and evidence of magmatism has also ...
flow, the volcano grows in
mass
Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...
and exerts pressure on the crust. This causes shifts which in turn cause more volcanic growth. This affects the
magma chamber
A magma chamber is a large pool of liquid rock beneath the surface of the Earth. The molten rock, or magma, in such a chamber is less dense than the surrounding country rock, which produces buoyant forces on the magma that tend to drive it u ...
which begins the cycle again with growth because of magmatic flow.
Since 1883, Concepción has erupted at least 25 times; its last eruption was on 16 May 2024. Concepción's eruptions are characterized by frequent, moderate-sized explosions. Active
fumaroles are present just north of Concepción's summit crater.
Adventure seekers from all over the world travel to Ometepe Island to climb Volcán Concepción. There are numerous trails in the tropical forest that surrounds the volcano's ash-covered peak.
See also
*
List of volcanoes in Nicaragua
References
*
External links
Volcano World: Concepción, Nicaragua
Mountains of Nicaragua
Stratovolcanoes of Nicaragua
Active volcanoes
Rivas Department
Holocene stratovolcanoes
First 100 IUGS Geological Heritage Sites
North American 1000 m summits
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