As a child in the 1960's I was very interested in volcanoes. My folks found a vintage set of books printed in the 1930's called "The Book of Knowledge" One volume detailed the birth of a new volcano either in Mexico or Central America in 1933. Do you know anything about this "new" volcano, such as its name, and recent activity levels?

Vincent A. Martin

I wonder if that old set of encyclopedias was printed in the 1940s instead of the 1930s? The eruption that was most frequently described (at least until Mt. St. Helens in 1980) was that of Paricutin, the cinder cone that erupted in a Mexican farmer's field in 1943. Paricutin erupted until 1952 - it had the longest eruption known from a cinder cone; most such eruptions last 30 days. The volcanic cone has been quiet since then and it would be very unusual if it ever erupts again. To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the eruption the Smithsonian Institution published a wonderful book, " Paricutin: The Volcano Born in a Mexican Cornfield."

Chuck Wood, University of North Dakota

Other Categories        Other Questions
To VolcanoWorld