View source for Earth:Las Cumbres (volcano)

{{Short description|Volcano in Mexico}}
{{Infobox mountain  
 | name           = Las Cumbres
 | elevation      = {{convert|3,940|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}
 | pushpin_map    =
 | map_caption    = 
 | photo          = Las Cumbres volcano.jpg
 | photo_alt      = 
 | photo_caption  = 
 | photo_size     =
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 | translation    = 
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 | location       = Puebla
 | group          = 
 | coordinates    = {{coord|19.15|N|97.27|W|type:mountain_region:JP|display=inline, title}}
 | country        = Mexico
 | type           = Stratovolcanoes
 | volcanic_group = 
 | range          = [[Earth:Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt|Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt]]
 | age            = 
 | last_eruption  = 3920 BCE
 | discovered     = 
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}}
'''Las Cumbres''' is a [[Earth:Stratovolcano|stratovolcano]] in Puebla, Mexico. It features an amphitheater-shaped [[Company:Caldera|caldera]] measuring {{cvt|4|km}} across with its eastern wall breached. Major lava flows around the volcano are andesitic. Inside the crater is a [[Earth:Dacite|dacitic]] [[Earth:Lava dome|lava dome]]. Previously thought to be as tall as Pico de Orizaba, the cone was destroyed in an ancient debris avalanche.<ref>{{cite gvp|341098|Las Cumbres}}</ref>

==Volcanism==
Much of Las Cumbres formed during the early to middle [[Earth:Pleistocene|Pleistocene]], and volcanism ended by the late Pleistocene. At the time, the volcanic cone was glaciated, similar to all volcanoes taller than {{cvt|4,000|m}}. Prior to a major cone collapse, Las Cumbres may have been approximately the same height as Pico de Orizaba ({{cvt|5,675|m}}).<ref name="Nunez1">{{cite journal |last1=Carrasco-Núñez |first1=Gerardo |last2=Díaz-Castellón |first2=Rodolfo |last3=Siebert |first3=Lee |last4=Hubbard |first4=Bernard |last5=Sheridan |first5=Michael F. |last6=Rodríguez |first6=Sergio Raúl |title=Multiple edifice-collapse events in the Eastern Mexican Volcanic Belt: The role of sloping substrate and implications for hazard assessment |journal=Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research |date=2006 |volume=158 |pages=151–176 |doi=10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2006.04.025 |url=https://www.geo.mtu.edu/EHaz/VolcanoInstability_class/carrasco/pdf/Carrasco%20et%20al%2006%20coll%20publ.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240423191832/https://www.geo.mtu.edu/EHaz/VolcanoInstability_class/carrasco/pdf/Carrasco%20et%20al%2006%20coll%20publ.pdf|archive-date=23 April 2024}}</ref> The catastrophic eruption has been dated to approximately 16,980 ± 870 years [[Earth:Before Present|Before Present]], beginning with [[Earth:Phreatomagmatic eruption|phreatomagmatic]] explosions as magma interacted with the glaciers. This also generated significant lahars. The eruption transitioned to a [[Earth:Plinian eruption|plinian]] phase when external water could not make contact with magma. The volcano erupting about {{cvt|4|km3}} of magma in this stage which triggered the cone's collapse.<ref name="Hoskuldsson1">{{cite journal |last1=Hoskuldsson |first1=Ármann |title=Late Pleistocene subglacial caldera formation at Cerro las Cumbres, eastern Mexico |journal=Jökull |date=2001 |volume=50 |pages=49–64 |url=https://timarit.is/page/7009347#page/n48/mode/2up}}</ref>

The collapse was directed to the east, depositing an estimated {{cvt|60–80|km3}} of the cone towards the present-day Huitzilapan and Pescados rivers. Field survey indicated the deposit covered {{cvt|1,500|km2}}. Close to the volcano, these deposits were up to {{cvt|100|m}} thick and clastic rocks were the size of [[Earth:Boulder|boulder]]s. Some {{cvt|20|km}} away, the collapse avalanche transitioned into a [[Earth:Debris flow|debris flow]]. Near the Gulf of Mexico, some {{cvt|120|km}} away, the flow became [[Earth:Hyperconcentrated flow|hyperconcentrated]].<ref name="Nunez1" />

Following the collapse, the eruption entered its [[Earth:Vulcanian eruption|vulcanian phase]] when water was able to interact with magma. This caused  phreatomagmatic eruptions to resume, and another plinian eruptive phase occurred when the unobstructed volcanic vent allowed magma to flow. The horseshoe-shaped caldera and collapse deposit was partly buried by a lava flow. The dacitic lava dome marked the end stage of the eruption phase.<ref name="Hoskuldsson1" />

==See also==
*List of volcanoes in Mexico

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Vulcanian eruptions]]
[[Category:Plinian eruptions]]
[[Category:Phreatomagmatic eruptions]]

{{Sourceattribution|Las Cumbres (volcano)}}