Samantha Reilly

Adriana Familia
Cristian Parra
Helena Zepeda
Period 1
 Background

❖ Located in Sierra Madre range in Guatemala

❖ Erupted in 1902 for first time in recorded
history
❖ Created through subduction of Cocos plate
under Carribean plate
❖ Lasted 19 days
❖ Second largest volcanic eruption of the century
What was the Magnitude of the Eruption?

❖ One of the largest and most explosive eruptions of the century

❖ Volcanic Eruptions are scaled using VEI (Volcanic Explosivity Index),
which is a numeric scale that measures the relative explosivity of
historic eruptions. It uses Volume of products, eruption cloud height,
and qualitative observations to determine the explosivity value.
❖ Santa Maria was scaled aa a VEI 6 eruption.
What Gas Was Released Into the Air?
❖ Over 1.2 million km2 covered in pumice deposit
❖ White dacitic pumice, dark gray scoriaceous basalt and crystals of
plagioclase, hornblende, hypersthene, biotite and magnetite make up the
juvenile components of the deposit
(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/03770273839008
35)
❖ Halite found in eruptive deposits originates from evaporite beds
within volcano
 What type of Volcano is it?

❖ Santa Maria is a Stratovolcano.

❖ It has a sharp-topped, conical profile that is cut
on the SW flank by a large, 1.5-km-wide crater.
❖ The oval-shaped crater extends from just below
the summit of Santa María to the lower flank
and was formed during the eruption.
 Did the Volcano Cause Any Other Disasters?

❖ The volcano was caused by a

great earthquake at the
center of the volcano
❖ A numerous of other major
earthquakes occured as well
during the eruption
Was There Any Aid and Rescue?

There was no aid and rescue according

to our research, however it occured in
1902 therefore there are minimal
records available.
 Is it in a developed country?
The famous volcano is based in Guatemala which is known to be a 3rd world country, the
country is very under developed and has a very high crime rate.
Diagram of Volcanic Eruption
The diagram shows how big of an eruption this volcano was because people who live miles
away from the volcano still felt the shock waves and saw the smoke in the air.