| Nevado del Ruiz | |
|---|---|
 Steam in July, 2007 |
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| Elevation | 5,321 metres (17,457 ft) |
| Location | Colombia |
| Range | Cordillera Central |
| Coordinates | |
| Type | Stratovolcano |
| Volcanic arc/belt | Andean Volcanic Belt |
| Last eruption | 1991 |
| First ascent | 1936 by M. In topography a summit is a point on a surface which is higher in Elevation than all points immediately adjacent to The metre or meter is a unit of Length. It is the basic unit of Length in the Metric system and in the International A foot (plural feet or foot; symbol or abbreviation ft or sometimes &prime – the prime symbol) is a non-SI unit Colombia (kəˈlʌmbɪə officially the Republic of Colombia () is a country in northwestern South America. A mountain range is a chain of Mountains bordered by highlands or separated from other mountains by passes or valleys See also Geography of Colombia The Cordillera Central range is one of the three branches of ridges in the Andes Mountains that split in southern A geographic coordinate system enables every location on the Earth to be specified in three coordinates using mainly a spherical coordinate system. Mountains can be characterized in several ways Some mountains are Volcanoes and can be characterized by the type of lava and eruptive history A stratovolcano, also called a composite volcano is a tall conical Volcano composed of many layers of hardened Lava, Tephra, and Volcanic A volcanic arc is a chain of volcanic islands or Mountains formed by Plate tectonics as an oceanic Tectonic plate subducts under A volcanic belt is a large volcanically active region Other terms are used for smaller areas of activity such as volcanic fields Volcanic belts are found above zones The Andean Volcanic Belt is a major Volcanic belt in coastal Colombia, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Argentina, South Plate tectonics and hotspots Divergent plate boundaries At the Year 1991 ( MCMXCI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar. In Climbing, a first ascent (FA is the first modern recorded climb to reach the top of a Mountain, or the first to follow a particular Climbing route Year 1936 ( MCMXXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Rapp and party |
Nevado del Ruiz is an Andean stratovolcano in Caldas Department, Colombia. The Andes form the world's longest exposed Mountain range. They lie as a continuous chain of highland along the western coast of South America. A stratovolcano, also called a composite volcano is a tall conical Volcano composed of many layers of hardened Lava, Tephra, and Volcanic Colombia (kəˈlʌmbɪə officially the Republic of Colombia () is a country in northwestern South America. It is the northernmost volcano of the Andean Volcanic Belt and lies about 15 miles southeast of Manizales, with the town of Armero in the valley below. The Andean Volcanic Belt is a major Volcanic belt in coastal Colombia, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Argentina, South Manizales is a city and municipality in central Colombia, capital of Department of Caldas and part of the region of Colombian Coffee-Growers Axis, Armero tragedy Armero, or Armero-Guayabal, is a municipality in the Tolima Department, Colombia. It is the northernmost and highest Colombian volcano with historical activity. Its 1985 eruption produced a lahar which completely buried the city and caused an estimated 23,000 deaths in what came to be known as the Armero tragedy. A lahar is a type of Mudflow / Landslide composed of Pyroclastic material and Water that flows down from a Volcano, typically The Armero Tragedy (Tragedia de Armero was the aftermath of the November 13, 1985 Nevado del Ruiz Volcano eruption in Tolima, Colombia
The Nevado del Ruiz was produced by subduction of the oceanic Nazca Plate beneath the continental South American Plate. In Geology, a subduction zone is an area on Earth where two tectonic plates meet and move towards one another with one sliding underneath the other The Nazca Plate, named after the Nazca region of southern Peru, is an oceanic Tectonic plate in the eastern Pacific Ocean basin off the west The South American Plate is a Tectonic plate covering the Continent of South America and extending eastward to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Stratovolcanoes in the Andes are for the most part Plinian, as is Nevado del Ruiz, and produce pyroclastic flows. Plinian eruptions are Volcanic eruptions marked by their similarity to the eruption of Mt A pyroclastic flow (also known as a pyroclastic density current) is a common and devastating result of some volcanic eruptions. Nevado del Ruiz consists of andesite and dacite lava. For the extinct cephalopod genus see Andesites. Andesite (ˈændəsaɪt is an igneous, Volcanic rock, of intermediate Dacite ( deɪsaɪt) is an igneous, volcanic rock with a high iron content
Nevado del Ruiz has been called "the Sleeping Lion" by the local towns around it. It had been a dormant volcano for nearly 150 years.
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1985 eruption
On November 13th , 1985, at 9:08 pm, Nevado del Ruiz erupted. Events 1002 - English king Ethelred orders the killing of all Danes in England, known today as the St Year 1985 ( MCMLXXXV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link displays 1985 Gregorian calendar) Pyroclastic flows melted ice and snow at the summit which formed lahars that rushed down several river valleys. A pyroclastic flow (also known as a pyroclastic density current) is a common and devastating result of some volcanic eruptions. A lahar is a type of Mudflow / Landslide composed of Pyroclastic material and Water that flows down from a Volcano, typically The lahars were up to 50 meters thick and traveled more than 100 kilometers. [1]
Many houses and towns were destroyed by the lahars. The town of Armero was completely covered by debris, killing approximately 21,000 people (out of 28,700). Armero tragedy Armero, or Armero-Guayabal, is a municipality in the Tolima Department, Colombia. The eruption caused an estimated 23,000 deaths, 5,000 injuries, and destroyed more than 5,000 homes. This was the second-deadliest volcanic disaster in the 20th century (the 1902 eruption of Mount Pelée was the worst). The twentieth century of the Common Era began on Year 1902 ( MCMII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting Mount Pelée ( French: Montagne Pelée, or "Bald Mountain" is a dormant Volcano on the northern tip of the French Overseas department The disaster gained some major international notoriety due in part to a photograph taken by photographer Frank Fournier, of a young girl named Omayra Sánchez who was trapped beneath rubble for three days before she died. Omayra Sanchez was a 13-year old victim of the Nevado del Ruiz Volcano which erupted on November 13, 1985 in Armero, Colombia [2]
Survivors who fled to other towns in the area were gradually housed in new government schemes, but problems for the displaced population occurred for many years after. The villagers were warned about the possibility of the disaster but because of past false information about it happening and the false statements of the Tolima Department Governor, among other officials, saying that the volcano was not going to erupt, many people did not believe these warnings.
There were hundreds of cases where people a few feet apart were either killed by the massive mud and stone wave or survived the disaster. Among the terrible consequences for survivors was that the temperature of the mud and rock avalanche served as a gigantic culture media for all kinds of pathogenic fungus and bacteria. Some survivors who had minor cuts were killed by the infections, which could not be treated with known antibiotics.
Aftermath
The eruption cost Colombia 7. 7 billion dollars; about 20% of the country’s GNP for the year in question. A lack of preparation contributed to the high death toll. Armero had been built directly on old mudflows and authorities ignored a hazard-zone map which showed the potential damage to the town if lahars were to avalanche down the mountain. Habitants were also told to stay inside and avoid the falling ash, not thinking the mudflows would bury them.
Several years later the scarred sides of the creeks along which the lahar flowed were clearly visible from commercial airplanes. Even in the mid 1990s the town was covered with up to 20 feet of ash and debris. Local villagers harvested stones for building work and often, still found human bones that they placed on the shrines that dot the area. A few small trees were trying to grow, protected from wandering animals by makeshift fences.
Now a new system can detect lahars, giving people more warning to evacuate before they happen. The system involves the use of Acoustic Flow Monitors (AFM) which analyze ground shaking that could potentially result in a lahar. These AFMs are placed in the volcano and warn officials if there is an exceedingly high amount of shaking.
See also
Footnotes
- ^ Deadly Lahars from Nevado del Ruiz at the USGS
- ^ Picture power: Tragedy of Omayra Sanchez BBC News, September 30, 2005 - Retrieved: July 9, 2007
References
- Smithsonian Institution Global Volcanism Program: Nevado del Ruiz
- Navado del Ruiz at South Dakota State University
- Nevado del Ruiz facts at the NOAA
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