What type of eruption formed Paricutin?
Cody
Hi Cody,
Paricutin is an example of what we call a monogenetic volcano. That means
that it has had only one eruption and isn't expected to erupt ever again.
Sure, that one eruption lasted for a few years, but it is still considered
to be a single event. As for the exact activity, there was fountaining as
well as the production of lava flows. The fountaining was relatively
strong and the pyroclastics are fine-grained (mostly sand-sized). For
this reason George Walker considers Paricutin (as well as many of its
monogenetic neighbors) to be an "ash cone" rather than a cinder cone.
The lava flows were relatively slow-moving, and often divided into
numerous flow units. This is similar to the activity seen on the
pahoehoe flows of Hawaiian volcanoes. However, nobody would call the
Paricutin lava pahoehoe. The main difference was that the Paricutin lava
was pretty cool compared to the Hawaiian examples. Even though it was
flowing slowly (which in Hawai'i will produce pahoehoe), the cooler
temperature made the viscosity higher so it produced 'a'a and a
transitional form between pahoehoe and 'a'a called "toothpaste lava".
If you have access to a library or bookstore you would probably really
enjoy the Paricutin book that is advertised here in VolcanoWorld. It is
by Jim Luhr and Tom Simkin.
Sincerely,
Scott Rowland
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