Volcán Atitlán

Volcán Atitlán (Spanish pronunciation: [atiˈtlan]) is a large, conical, active stratovolcano adjacent to the caldera of Lake Atitlán in the Guatemalan Highlands of the Sierra Madre de Chiapas range. It is within the Sololá Department, in southwestern Guatemala.

Volcán Atitlán
Volcán Atitlán from the village of San Antonio Palopo
Highest point
Elevation	3,535 m (11,598 ft)
Coordinates	14°35′0″N 91°11′10″W
Naming
Language of name	Nahuatl
Geography
Volcán Atitlán Sololá Department, Guatemala
Geology
Mountain type	Stratovolcano
Volcanic arc/belt	Central America Volcanic Arc
Last eruption	May 1853

The volcano has been quite active historically, with more than a dozen eruptions recorded between 1469 and 1853, the date of its most recent eruption. Atitlán is part of the Central American Volcanic Arc. The arc is a chain of volcanoes stretching along Central America formed by subduction of the Cocos Plate underneath the Caribbean Plate. These volcanoes are part of the Ring of Fire around the Pacific Ocean.

Volcán Atitlán is a few miles south of Volcán Tolimán, which rises from the southern shore of Lake Atitlán. Volcán San Pedro rises above Lake Atitlán northwest of Volcán Atitlán. A long narrow bay separates Volcán Atitlán and Volcán Toliman from Volcán San Pedro.

The volcanoes of Lake Atitlan: Atitlan (left center), Toliman (center), and San Pedro (far right).

Wildlife

Atitlán is home to two particularly rare and beautiful birds that are endemic to the cloud forests of this region. The horned guan (Oreophasis derbianus) is a Pleistocene relic of the family Cracidae that persists today only in small fragments of its previous range. Its habitat is limited to cloud forests above approximately 1,650 metres (5,410 ft). This bird is the size of a turkey and the adult male has a one-inch scarlet-colored "horn" projecting straight up from the top of its head. The Cabanis's or azure-rumped tanager (Tangara cabanisi) is probably the most restricted-range species in the region. It occurs only at mid-elevations within the Sierra Madre del Sur of Chiapas, Mexico and western Guatemala.

References

• "Atitlán". Global Volcanism Program. Smithsonian Institution.
• VolcanoWorld information

See also

• List of volcanoes in Guatemala