Apoyeque

Apoyeque is a pyroclastic shield, located in the Chiltepe Peninsula Natural Reserve in Nicaragua. It has a 2.8-km wide, 400-m-deep, lake-filled caldera.[1]

Apoyeque
Map of Nicaragua, showing location of Chiltepe peninsula and Nicaragua volcanic front.
Highest point
Elevation	518 m (1,699 ft)
Coordinates	12°14′30″N 86°20′30″W
Geography
Location	Nicaragua
Geology
Mountain type	Pyroclastic shield
Last eruption	50 BC ± 100 years

Geography

The Chiltepe Peninsula and the Apoyeque caldera, view from the ISS.

Apoyeque is a volcanic complex that formed and occupies the Chiltepe Peninsula. It is part of the Chiltepe pyroclastic shield volcano, one of three ignimbrite shields on the Nicaraguan volcanic front.[2]

The lake at its center, Apoyeque lake (Spanish: Laguna de Apoyeque, also called Laguna de Apoyaque,[3]), its shore 100 meters below the peak of the caldera, at its bottom reaches down to sea level.

Apoyeque, as well as the entire Chiltepe peninsula are part of the Managua administrative region, in close proximity to city of Managua, Nicaragua's capital.[4]

Immediately southeast of Apoyeque peak is the 2.5 × 3 kilometer-wide lake-filled Xiloá (Jiloá) maar, a part of the Apoyeque complex.

Volcanology

The last eruption of Apoyeque, in about 50 BC (+/- 100 years), was one of the largest explosions known in history, and it had a Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) of 6. [5]

In addition to the Chiltepe dome (volcán Chiltepe), which is used synonymously with Apoyeque, the Apoyeque complex contains the Jiloa caldera (Laguna de Jiloa[6] aka Xiloá), the Miraflores dome and the Cerro Talpetate dome.[7]

An eruption of Laguna Xiloá 6100 years ago produced pumiceous pyroclastic flows that overlay similar deposits of similar age from Masaya.[8]

Apoyeque has been identified as a particular dangerous volcano, due to its history of major eruptions separated by 2000 years, proximity to Managua, and the risks of generating lake tsunamis.[9]

See also

• List of volcanoes in Nicaragua

References

1. "Apoyeque Volcano, Global Volcanism Program, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History". Retrieved 2010-08-02..
2. "Apoyeque Volcano, Nicaragua in geographic.org". Retrieved 2010-08-02..
3. "Laguna de Apoyaque: Nicaragua, geographic.org". Retrieved 2010-08-02..
4. "Laguna de Apoyegue: Nicaragua, geographic.org". Retrieved 2010-08-02..
5. "Apoyeque". Global Volcanism Program. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
6. "Laguna de Jiloá: Nicaragua". Retrieved 2010-08-02.
7. "Apoyeque Synonyms and Subfeatures". Retrieved 2015-05-30.
8. "Apoyeque Summary, in Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History's Global Volcanism Program". Retrieved 2015-05-30.
9. Freundt, A.; et al. (2006). "Volcanic hazards in Nicaragua: Past, present, and future". In Rose, W.I.; et al. (eds.). Volcanic Hazards in Central America (GSA Special Paper 412). Geological Society of America. pp. 141–165. ISBN 978-0-8137-2412-6.