Volcán de Agua

Volcán de Agua is a dormant stratovolcano in Guatemala, south of Antigua Guatemala. Its Spanish name means “Water Volcano.”

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Stratovolcano: A steep, cone-shaped volcano built from successive layers of lava, ash, and other volcanic debris. Volcán de Agua’s layered cone identifies it as this type of volcano.
Central American Volcanic Arc: A chain of volcanoes formed above the subduction zone along Central America’s Pacific margin. Volcán de Agua belongs to Guatemala’s segment of this volcanic chain.
Antigua Guatemala: A Guatemalan city known for Spanish colonial architecture and its history as a former capital. The city lies northwest of Volcán de Agua and is closely associated with its 1541 disaster.
Spanish language: A Romance language originating on the Iberian Peninsula and spoken across much of the Americas. The name Volcán de Agua is Spanish for “Water Volcano.”
Lahar: A fast-moving volcanic mudflow composed of water and volcanic sediment. A catastrophic 1541 mudflow from the volcano overwhelmed the former capital near its slopes.
Cocos Plate: An oceanic tectonic plate that moves beneath the Caribbean Plate along Central America. Its subduction helps generate the magma feeding Guatemala’s volcanic arc.
Ciudad Vieja: A town in Sacatepéquez, Guatemala, near the site of the country’s early Spanish colonial capital. The 1541 mudflow devastated the settlement then known as Santiago de los Caballeros de Guatemala.
Nahuatl: A Uto-Aztecan language historically spoken across central Mexico and parts of Central America. The volcano is also called Hunahpú, a name associated with Indigenous naming traditions.
Volcanic dome: A steep-sided mound formed when viscous lava accumulates around a volcanic vent. Dome growth is one process that can shape stratovolcanoes, though it is not the defining feature of Volcán de Agua.
Caribbean Plate: A tectonic plate underlying much of the Caribbean region and parts of Central America. Volcán de Agua lies on the overriding plate above the regional subduction zone.