It's Been a Busy Week of Explosive Eruptions in Mexico

Raung in Indonesia, captured by Landsat 8 on July 11, 2015. Notice the dark lava filling in the summit caldera. NASA Earth Observatory Catching up with some volcano news: MexicoColima is no stranger to eruptions, but this past week has seen especially vigorous activity at the Mexican volcano. Last weekend, Colima had one of its largest explosive eruptions in years, sending pyroclastic flows down the slopes of the volcano after the summit lava dome collapsed. The ash plume that was created by this collapse reached 7.6 kilometers (~25,000 feet) and noticeable ash fell as far as 88 kilometers (54 miles) from Colima. Since then, smaller explosions have continued and views of the volcano at night show incandescent blocks of lava cascading down. However, with the destruction of the summit down, volcanologists in Mexico think that the explosive activity should begin to wane. Without the dome, less pressure builds in the ...