Parque Nacional Volcan Masaya

Last night, all of us other than Erica, went on a tour to the volcano next to Granada.

It cost $18.00 US .....4 pm to about 8 pm.

This was so different to Volcan Pacaya!

For one thing, we DROVE up to this volcano. Once we got there, you can see all this smoke.....it´s sulphur and boy did we all cough and have a problem going up this one hill to get a better view. I´m not sure this was great for our health!

They gave us gas masks to wear in the later part of our tour when it got dark and we hiked to this other spot to actually look down into the HOLE of the volcano............very red and full of fire!

Masaya is caldera (4 by 7 miles, 6 by 11.5 km) that contains 13 vents. Caldera: The Spanish word for cauldron, a basin-shaped volcanic depression; by definition, at least a mile in diameter. Such large depressions are typically formed by the subsidence of volcanoes. Crater Lake occupies the best-known caldera in the Cascades.

Most activity at these vents consisted of effusion of basaltic lava. Pyroclastic eruptions have constructed three main cones: Masaya, Nindiri, and Santiago. Santiago formed in 1850-1853. Spatter and scoria deposits indicate fire fountaining at Masaya, the only know occurrence of this type of eruption in Central America (Williams, 1981). Scoria: A bomb-size (> 64 mm) pyroclast that is irregular in form and generally very vesicular. It is usually heavier, darker, and more crystalline than pumice.

Unlike the stratovolcanoes that characterize subduction zones. Stratovolcano: A volcano composed of both lava flows and pyroclastic material.

Masaya has a shield-like morphology. Shield Volcano: A gently sloping volcano in the shape of a flattened dome and built almost exclusively of lava flows

At times, Masaya emits large amounts of sulfur dioxide gas.

In 1979, Masaya became Nicaragua's first National Park (Parque Nacional Volcan Masaya).