Tierra Blanca Joven eruption

The Tierra Blanca Joven eruption of Lake Ilopango was the largest volcanic eruption in El Salvador during historic times, and one of the largest volcanic events on Earth in the past 7,000 years, registering at 6 on the Volcanic explosivity index (VEI), and dating back to the mid 5th century A.D. The eruption produced between 37–82 km³ (8.9–19.7 cu mi) of ejecta (dense-rock equivalent).^[2][3][4] The date of the eruption has been constrained within 429–433 CE by identifying its signature volcanic ash in precision-dated ice cores sampled from Greenland, thus eliminating it as the cause of extreme weather events of 535–536.^[2]

Tierra Blanca Joven eruption
The eruption created an 8 by 11 km (5.0 by 6.8 mi) lake-filled caldera known as Lake Ilopango.
Volcano	Lake Ilopango
Date	431±2 CE
Type	Ultra-Plinian
Location	El Salvador, Central America 13.67°N 89.05°W / 13.67; -89.05
VEI	6
The estimated ashfall in the region during the Tierra Blanca Joven eruption. The ash covered at least 10,000 km2 (3,900 sq mi) up to 50 cm (20 in) deep,[1] and nearly 2,000,000 km2 (770,000 sq mi) with a blanket at least 0.5 cm (0.20 in) in depth.[2] The red spot is the ash at the bottom of the image.

Volcanic eruption

The Tierra Blanca Joven eruption is El Salvador's largest volcanic eruption in the last 10,000 years. This VEI-6 Plinian eruption occurred during the 5th century and was larger than the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa or the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo, having probably been more comparable to the 1815 eruption of Mount Tambora.^[5] It produced about 104–207 km³ (25–50 cu mi) of tephra (several times as much as the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens), produced major pyroclastic fall and large pyroclastic flows that covered 10,000 km² (3,900 sq mi) with over 50 cm (20 in) of pumice and ash,^[1] and nearly 2,000,000 km² (770,000 sq mi) with a blanket of ash at least 0.5 cm (0.20 in) in depth.^[2] The eruption devastated an area of up to 100 km (62 mi) radius around the volcano. Having produced 37–82 km³ (8.9–19.7 cu mi) (dense-rock equivalent) of volcanic products,^[4] the Tierra Blanca Joven eruption is one of the largest volcanic events on Earth in recorded history.^[6]

See also

• 1257 Samalas eruption
• 1815 eruption of Mount Tambora
• List of large Holocene volcanic eruptions
• Volcanic winter
• Year Without a Summer