The Paricutin Volcano

The Paricutin Volcano

The Paricutin Volcano is a currently dormant volcano in the Mexico State of Michoacán. The volcano resides close to a city named Uruapan and is roughly 321 km west of the capital Mexico City. The Paricutin Volcano is relatively young volcano having surged into existence from the cornfield of famer Dionisio Pulido during the 1940’s. This volcanic eruption presented a unique opportunity for scientists to document the life cycle of volcanos that erupt in this way. Scientist flocked to the area to observe the changes in the environment, and map out every aspect that they could of the volcano.

In 1952, the volcano stood 424 meters high and had damaged a significant amount of land surrounding the volcano. Two towns were destroyed

while another three took heavy damage. There were few casualties during this period. Many people from the region never returned. However, despite its high volcanic activity, the Paricutin has become something of a tourist attraction for the region. People from all over the world come out to climb the volcano and to visit areas that are covered in hardened lava. CNN describes the Paricutin Volcano as one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World.

The Trans Mexican Volcanic Belt
The Paricutin Volcano is a part of the Trans Mexican Volcanic Belt.

The belt of volcanos resides through central south Mexico. This belt is over 600 miles long. The famous Sierra Nevada is a part of this volcanic belt. Because of the volcanic activity and rock deposits, soil produced in this region is amongst the most fertile. Many of Mexico’s finest agriculture grows in these regions. The Paricutin Volcano is referred to as a scoria cone volcano. This name is derived from the shape the volcano took while developing. Scoria cone volcanos are renowned for appearing suddenly, creating a cone shaped volcano, with a large inward dome, before going extinct or dormant for long periods of time. The Paricutin Volcano is one of the youngest volcanos in this region. Scoria cone volcanos are the most common type of volcanos in the region. The crater created by the volcano is almost 200 meters across. Tourists are able to easily hike up the volcano and can walk around the perimeter of the crater.

Is the Paricutin Volcano Extinct?

There has been a lot of debate regarding whether the Paricutin Volcano can be classified as extinct. Most scientist will agree that the volcano itself is probably extinct, but the forces that brought upon its creation, are still very active in the area. The volcano itself is still hot, hot enough to react with falling rain water to produce steam from its crater. In the previous years, there has been increased volcanic activity in the area where the Paricutin formed, but the Paricutin hasn’t itself erupted in many years.

The Last Eruption of

Paricutin
The last time the Paricutin was erupting was right after its formation. From 1943-1952 the volcano was in a constant phase of eruption. Weeks before the eruption started, earthquake activity was picked up in the surrounding areas. Weeks before the volcano erupted there were a reported 21 earthquakes; however, days before the volcano erupted, the report of earthquakes had spiked into the hundreds.

The volcano erupted in four stages throughout the 9 year active period. The formation of the volcano drew attention from around the world and even inspired a children’s book.