Santiaguito Volcano

Updated: Mar 31, 2025 15:20 GMT - refresh

Stratovolcano

Guatemala, 14.76°N / -91.55°W

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Summit height: 3772 m (12,375 ft)

Current status: erupting (4 out of 5)

Last update: 31 Mar 2025 (Volcanic Ash Advisory)

The lava dome complex of Santiaguito volcano seen from Santa Maria's summit

Santiaguito is the name of the dome complex that grew inside the collapse scar left by the catastrophic eruption and partial collapse of Santa María stratovolcano in 1902. Its currently active dome is called Caliente (the "hot one").
Symmetrical, forest-covered Santa María volcano is one of the most prominent of a chain of large volcanoes that rises dramatically above the Pacific coastal plain of Guatemala. Santa Maria erupted catastrophically in 1902 destroying its former summit.
Santa Maria is a popular excursion destination and the summit offers spectacular views onto erupting Santiaguito.

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Typical eruption style: Dominantly explosive, formation of lava domes
Santiaguito volcano eruptions: 1902 (catastrophic Plinian eruption of Santa Maria), 1903, 1922-ongoing (Santiaguito dome complex)

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Background

The 3772-m-high stratovolcano 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 Volcán Santa María to the lower flank and was formed during a catastrophic eruption in 1902. The renowned plinian eruption of 1902 that devastated much of SW Guatemala followed a long repose period after construction of the large basaltic-andesite stratovolcano. The massive dacitic Santiaguito lava-dome complex has been growing at the base of the 1902 crater since 1922. Compound dome growth at Santiaguito has occurred episodically from four westward-younging vents, the most recent of which is Caliente. Dome growth has been accompanied by almost continuous minor explosions, with periodic lava extrusion, larger explosions, pyroclastic flows, and lahars.
Source: GVP

Santiaguito Volcano Photos

Santiaguito's Caliente lava dome consists of viscous, mostly solidified lava plugging the circular vent. (Photo: Tom Pfeiffer)

Eruption from Santiaguito lava dome (Photo: Yashmin Chebli)

Eruption from Santiaguito volcano (Photo: Tom Pfeiffer)

The ash plume has reached more than 1 km height. (Photo: Tom Pfeiffer)

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Significant volcanic eruptions: Santiaguito volcano

In the past 10,000 years, Santiaguito has had at least 3 confirmed eruptions, all documented by historical records or observations.

The table below lists all known eruptions (date in bold face) of Santiaguito volcano in historic times and during the past 10,000 years. Updates on the most recent volcanic activity of Santiaguito can be found on the news page of Santiaguito volcano.

Date	Note	VEI	Deaths	Damage
1922 Jun 22 - ongoing	SW flank (Santiaguito) Historical obs./docs.	3
1990 Jul 19 (eruption 1922 Jun 22 - ongoing)	Historical obs./docs.	3	4		Info
1990 Jul 19: Four hikers on a government-sponsored filming expedition were killed by explosions while on the E rim of the 1902 crater. Cited references #1412 Simkin, Tom, and Lee Siebert with the collaboration of Russell Blong, Jonathan Dehn, Christopher Newhall, Roland Pool, and Thomas C. Stein (1994): Volcanoes of the World, Second Edition, A Regional Directory, Gazetteer, and Chronology of Volcanism During the Last 10,000 Years, Geoscience Press, Inc., Tucson, Arizona, in association with Smithsonian Institution, Global Volcanism Program, Washington, D.C., p. 164-176. Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), Global Significant Earthquake Database. doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K
1978 Sep 2 (eruption 1922 Jun 22 - ongoing)	Historical obs./docs.	3	1		Info
1978 Sep 2: Mudflow from breakup of ash and block dams on rivers killed 1. Cited references #1412 Simkin, Tom, and Lee Siebert with the collaboration of Russell Blong, Jonathan Dehn, Christopher Newhall, Roland Pool, and Thomas C. Stein (1994): Volcanoes of the World, Second Edition, A Regional Directory, Gazetteer, and Chronology of Volcanism During the Last 10,000 Years, Geoscience Press, Inc., Tucson, Arizona, in association with Smithsonian Institution, Global Volcanism Program, Washington, D.C., p. 164-176. Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), Global Significant Earthquake Database. doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K
1929 Nov 2 (eruption 1922 Jun 22 - ongoing)	Historical obs./docs.	3	200		Info
1929 Nov 2: CAVW lists 23 fatalities for pyroclastic flow. Volcano Letter (VL) gives 45 deaths, with 21 bodies found at El Palmar, 10 km from the crater but later VL details 26 more killed by hot mud at a plantation on the Rio Tambor. This source also implies that loss of life approached that in the 1902 eruption. Mercado et al. suggest 11/02 dome collapse pyroclastic flow killed from several hundred to as many as 5,000 persons. (reference #9675) Cited references #1628 various (1951-1975): Catalogue of the Active Volcanoes of the World including Solfatara Fields. Rome: International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior, 22 volumes. [vol.s are listed individually in NGDC's Reference Database.] #1641 Jaggar, T.A. (1931): Eruption of Santa Maria [Guatemala] November 1929. The Volcano Letter, 356: 1-4 #1656 Mercado R, Rose W I, Matias O, Giron J (1988): November 1929 dome collapse and pyroclastic flow at Santiaguito dome, Guatemala (abstract). Eos, Transactions American Geophysical Union, 69: 1487 #9675 Siebert, Lee, Tom Simkin, Paul Kimberly (2010): Fatalities & Evacuations, Volcanoes of the World, Third Edition, Geoscience Press, Inc., University of California Press, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., p. 329-347. Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), Global Significant Earthquake Database. doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K
1903 - 1913	SW flank (east end of 1902 crater) Historical obs./docs.	2
1902 Oct 24 - Nov 12	SW flank Historical obs./docs.	6?
1902 Oct 25 (eruption 1902 Oct 24 - Nov 12)	Historical obs./docs.	6	10,000	moderate	Info
1902 Oct 25: Reference #9675: Sapper says that hundreds of people were killed in collapsing houses. One source says 10 villages of 50-5,000 inhabitants each were buried beneath tons of volcanic debris. At one plantation 11 km from the volcano, 105 of 112 laborers died. At a village over 350 died, suffocated by deadly fumes. Anderson suggested 2-3,000 kiUed and many more (i.e. >2,000) died in subsequent malaria outbreak because ashfall killed birds but not mosquitoes. Both Coleman and Wilcoxson give estimates of 6,000 killed; Witham estimates 5,000-10,000 deaths from disease. Reference #1182, #7895: 6000 killed from Santa Maria eruption. Reference #7815: The Advertiser, Adelaide, South Australia, Thursday 25 December 1902, p. 5. A FLAMING CRATER. HORROR IN GUATEMALA. AN ENTIRE REPUBLIC STRICKEN. "The coffee districts of Costa Cuca, Chuva, Palmer, Reforma, Costa Grande, and Kolhuitz are destroyed by the eruption," the factor wrote... The towns of Palmer, San Felipe, Coombia, and Centepee, are all ruined. Ashes are 7 ft. deep in the tineas and towns. Mud, stones, and lava have fallen all over the country. Houses have been crushed by the weight of the volcanic material that has fallen upon them. Retalhuleu, Mazatenango, and Quezaltenango have not suffered so much, but this calamity is only beginning. We have mud and ashes in Retalhuleu. There is great loss of life. Cattle and horses are dead by thousands. Famine and pest are approaching. God help us! Bridges and roads have been destroyed. It is impossible to get further news. LIVES REPORTED LOST. It is the common belief in all the coast towns of Central America that thousands of lives have been sacrificed in this awful disaster. Those who have come in from the region immediate to the zone of devastation insist that all who were in the towns of Pilmar, San Felipe, Colombia, and Coatepee must have perished. LOSS REACHES MILLIONS. The property losses are enormous. The estimates of these losses are in varying millions. The coffee fincas of the Western Department of Guatemala were among the most productive and profitable in the world. On October 31 advices were received in this city to the effect that the entire coffee zone of Guatemala had been destroyed, and that the lives of all engaged on the fincas and living in the towns and villages were in imminent danger. Later information not only confirms these first reports, but greatly enlarges the area of destruction and vastly increases the amount of loss to the coffee planters. AN OFFICIAL REPORT. Mr. James C. McNally, United States Consul-General at Guatemala City, in his official report to the State Department, estimates the total loss at more than £1,000,000. He says ; "As a climax to the terrible earthquakes of April 18, which practically compassed the ruin of Quezaltenango, the volcano Santa Maria, almost adjoining that city, erupted on October 24, throwing out quantities of mud and ashes, causing untold damage on the coast side, which comprises the rich coffee zone of Guatemala. The volcano is still active, and ashes are falling on places 30 miles distant from the crater." FIFTEEN THOUSAND PERSONS DEAD. Mr. Hans Lang left here six weeks ago to assume the position of assistant manager of the plantation of Lucerno, near Osuna. In speaking of the loss of life resulting from the eruption, Mr. Lang said:--"In Guatemala City it was estimated that 15,000 lives were lost. The exact number will never be known, as thousands lie buried beneath the ashes, and their bodies will never be recovered. I was stationed fifty miles from Santa Maria, and no ashes fell on my plantation, although the rumblings were distinctly heard and the lightning flashes plainly seen. When the volcano of Fuego, adjacent to the plantation, began to belch forth smoke, I thought it time to decamp, so I made my way to Guatemala City. Cited references #1182 Latter, J.H. (1969): Natural Disasters, Advancement of Science 25 (126), p. 362-380. #1412 Simkin, Tom, and Lee Siebert with the collaboration of Russell Blong, Jonathan Dehn, Christopher Newhall, Roland Pool, and Thomas C. Stein (1994): Volcanoes of the World, Second Edition, A Regional Directory, Gazetteer, and Chronology of Volcanism During the Last 10,000 Years, Geoscience Press, Inc., Tucson, Arizona, in association with Smithsonian Institution, Global Volcanism Program, Washington, D.C., p. 164-176. #1667 Sapper, K. (1917): Katalog der Geschichtlichen Vulkanausbruche. Strasbourg: Karl J Trubner, 358 p #7815 The Advertiser, Adelaide, South Australia (1902): A Flaming Crater - Horror in Guatemala - An Entire Republic Stricken - Lives Reported Lost, The Advertiser, Thursday 25 December 1902, p. 5. Retrieved June 21, 2010 from http://newspapers.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/4910377 #7895 Blanchard-Boehm, R. Denise (2004): Natural Hazards in Latin America: Tectonic Forces and Storm Fury. The Social Studies Journal, p. 93-105. #8475 Rose, William I. (1972): Notes on the 1902 eruption of Santa Mara volcano, Guatemala. Bulletin volcanologique; organe de la Section de volcanologie de l'Union geodesique et geophysique intemationale, vol. 36, no. 1, p. 29-45. #9675 Siebert, Lee, Tom Simkin, Paul Kimberly (2010): Fatalities & Evacuations, Volcanoes of the World, Third Edition, Geoscience Press, Inc., University of California Press, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., p. 329-347. #10953 Siebert, Lee, Tom Simkin, Paul Kimberly (2010): Volcanoes of the World, Third Edition, Geoscience Press, Inc., University of California Press, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., 551 p. Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), Global Significant Earthquake Database. doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K

Remark:

Our list of volcanic eruptions closely follows the database of eruptions of the Smithsonian's Global Volcanism Project (GVP), the internationally most recognized data source for volcanic eruptions, but also includes significant eruptive episodes or related volcano events. "Volcanic eruptions" are usually to be understood as sequences of individual eruptive episodes that can follow each other, or even overlap (if several vents are involved), and can last many years, decades or even longer. For example, the current activity of Stromboli volcano is understood as a single eruption that has been ongoing since 1934.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), Global Significant Volcanic Eruptions Database. doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K | Global Volcanism Project / Smithsonian Institution

Santiaguito Volcano FAQ

+When was the last eruption of Santiaguito volcano?

The last confirmed eruption of Santiaguito began in 1922 and is continuing (as of March 2025).

+How often does Santiaguito volcano erupt?

Santiaguito volcano erupts almost every year. Since its first historically documented eruption 1902, Santiaguito has often been near-continuously active. The Global Volcanism Project counts 3 historic eruptions until now, spanning a total of 116 out of 123 years. In other words, Santiaguito is active roughly every one in 1.1 years on average. This value is likely an underestimate, because the known history of eruption might not contain all eruptions, especially further back in time. The last eruption of Santiaguito began in 1922 and is continuing (as of March 2025).

+How active is Santiaguito volcano at present?

Santiaguito volcano is extremely active: Since 1900, it has been near-continuously active, showing eruptive activity during 116 years out of 126 as of now. The latest eruption is still continuing at present.

+When was the largest eruption of Santiaguito volcano?

The largest eruption of Santiaguito volcano in historic times occurred in 1902. It ranks as a plinian eruption with a magnitude 6 on the VEI (Volcanic Explosivity Index) scale. Eruption of this size are often catastrophic on a regional scale.

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Santiaguito Volcano Maps

Below is a selection of maps showing the location and surroundings of the volcano at various resolutions based on aerial-imagery / terrain maps. Feel free to use them for non-commercial purposes on your blog or website as long as you credit them with a link back to this page (click to copy it).