Agua - Definition and Overview

At 3,760 meters, Agua volcano towers more than 3,500 meters above the Pacific coastal plain to the south and 2,000 meters above the Guatemalan highlands to the north. The volcano is within 5 to 10 kilometers of Antigua, Guatemala and several other large towns situated on its northern apron. These towns have a combined population of nearly 100,000. It is within about 20 kilometers of Escuintla (population, ca .100,000) to the south. Though the volcano has not been active in historical time, or about the last 500 years, it has the potential to produce debris flows (watery flows of mud, rock, and debris -- also known as lahars when they occur on a volcano) that could inundate these nearby populated areas. -- Schilling, et.al., 2001

A lahar from the volcano in 1541 destroyed the original capital of Guatemala (now known of Ciudad Vieja) and the city was moved to the current Antigua Guatemala following this disaster.

Sources

• S.P. Schilling, J.W. Vallance, O. Matías, and M.M. Howell, 2001, Lahar Hazards at Agua Volcano, Guatemala: USGS Open-File Report 01-432 (http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/Guatemala/Publications/OFR01-432/OFR01-432.pdf)