Volcanoes by country

El Salvador

Volcanoes in El Salvador

Map, activity and eruption history

The Holocene catalogue of the Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program lists 17 volcanoes in El Salvador. This page brings together the map, report status, eruption history and the surroundings of every single volcano. None of them currently has a running eruption report.

Earthquakes · El Salvador
With a current report
None No current eruption report
Volcanoes in the catalogue
17
Documented eruptions
33
Highest volcano
2,381 mSanta Ana
Last documented eruption
2023San Miguel

Map

Volcano map of El Salvador

Every volcano in the country with plate boundaries, air traffic within 50 km, airports and nuclear power plants. Earthquakes can be added on top.

Map layers

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Markers show the catalogue position of a volcano, not the extent of a hazard zone. Plate boundaries after Bird (2003), PB2002.

All volcanoes in El Salvador

Sorted by report status and elevation. Every entry opens the full volcano profile.

Volcano catalogue
  1. Santa Ana No current eruption report
    Type
    Stratovolcano
    Elevation
    2,381 m
    Last eruption
    2005
    Eruptions
    8
  2. San Vicente No current eruption report
    Type
    Stratovolcano
    Elevation
    2,149 m
    Last eruption
    Not available
    Eruptions
  3. San Miguel No current eruption report
    Type
    Stratovolcano
    Elevation
    2,130 m
    Last eruption
    2023
    Eruptions
    8
  4. Apaneca Range No current eruption report
    Type
    Stratovolcano
    Elevation
    2,028 m
    Last eruption
    Not available
    Eruptions
  5. Izalco No current eruption report
    Type
    Stratovolcano
    Elevation
    1,950 m
    Last eruption
    1966
    Eruptions
    8
  6. San Salvador No current eruption report
    Type
    Stratovolcano
    Elevation
    1,893 m
    Last eruption
    1917
    Eruptions
    6
  7. Chingo No current eruption report
    Type
    Stratovolcano
    Elevation
    1,775 m
    Last eruption
    Not available
    Eruptions
  8. Tigre, El No current eruption report
    Type
    Stratovolcano
    Elevation
    1,640 m
    Last eruption
    Not available
    Eruptions
  9. Tecapa No current eruption report
    Type
    Stratovolcano
    Elevation
    1,593 m
    Last eruption
    Not available
    Eruptions
    1
  10. Usulutan No current eruption report
    Type
    Stratovolcano
    Elevation
    1,449 m
    Last eruption
    Not available
    Eruptions
  11. Chinameca No current eruption report
    Type
    Stratovolcano
    Elevation
    1,300 m
    Last eruption
    Not available
    Eruptions
  12. Taburete No current eruption report
    Type
    Stratovolcano
    Elevation
    1,172 m
    Last eruption
    Not available
    Eruptions
  13. Singuil, Cerro No current eruption report
    Type
    Volcanic field
    Elevation
    926 m
    Last eruption
    Not available
    Eruptions
  14. Coatepeque Caldera No current eruption report
    Type
    Caldera
    Elevation
    746 m
    Last eruption
    Not available
    Eruptions
  15. Cinotepeque, Cerro No current eruption report
    Type
    Volcanic field
    Elevation
    665 m
    Last eruption
    Not available
    Eruptions
  16. Ilopango No current eruption report
    Type
    Caldera
    Elevation
    450 m
    Last eruption
    1880
    Eruptions
    2
  17. Aramuaca, Laguna No current eruption report
    Type
    Maar
    Elevation
    181 m
    Last eruption
    Not available
    Eruptions

“Last eruption” is a catalogue record, not evidence of activity in progress.

Significant volcanic eruptions in El Salvador

Eruptions with fatalities, damage or high explosivity from the NOAA NCEI database of significant volcanic eruptions.

  1. 450 Ilopango VEI 6 30,000 Deaths
  2. 1917 San Salvador VEI 3 325 Deaths
  3. 2005 Santa Ana VEI 3 2 Deaths
  4. 1920 Izalco VEI 3 Deaths: few (roughly 1–50)
  5. 1659 San Salvador VEI 3
  6. 590 San Salvador Deaths: few (roughly 1–50)

Explosivity of the documented eruptions

VEI · 31

VEI 0
3
VEI 1
7
VEI 2
11
VEI 3
8
VEI 4
1
VEI 5
0
VEI 6
1

The Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) runs from 0 (effusive) to 8 (super-eruptive). Each step stands for roughly ten times the erupted mass.

Eruptions per century

1500–1599
1
1600–1699
1
1800–1899
7
1900–1999
12
2000–2099
9

Documented eruptions since 1500. Earlier centuries are recorded less completely, so a rise also reflects better observation.

Earthquakes near volcanoes – El Salvador

2 events in the last 30 days within 50 km of a volcano in El Salvador.

Earthquakes · El Salvador

Spatial proximity does not establish a volcanic origin. Many events in volcanic regions are tectonic.

Tectonic setting and volcano types

What the volcanic landscape of El Salvador is made of and which tectonic setting it sits in.

Tectonic setting

  • Subduction zone / Continental crust (> 25 km)17

Most common volcano types

  • Stratovolcano12
  • Volcanic field2
  • Caldera2
  • Maar1

Infrastructure within 100 km

Airports with scheduled service and nuclear power plant sites near a volcano in El Salvador.

Airports 2

  • Ilopango International Airport7.8 km · ILS
  • El Salvador International Airport Saint Óscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez25.3 km · SAL

Nuclear power plants 0

No site from the included datasets lies within this radius.

This selection shows geographic proximity, not a hazard zone or confirmed impacts.

Volcanoes in profile – El Salvador

Short descriptions of the country's best-known volcanoes.

Santa Ana

Stratovolcano · 2,381 m · Last eruption: 2005

The Santa Ana Volcano or Ilamatepec is a large stratovolcano located in the Santa Ana department of El Salvador. At 2,381 metres (7,812 ft) above sea level, it is the highest volcano in the country. It is located immediately west of Coatepeque Caldera.

San Vicente

Stratovolcano · 2,149 m · Last eruption: Not available

San Vicente is a stratovolcano in central El Salvador. It is located next to the town of San Vicente and is the second highest volcano in El Salvador. In the indigenous language Nahuat, Chichontepec means the mountain of the two breasts, because its double summit resembles a woman's bosom. The volcano has two craters, one located in each summit, although not exactly at the top. A dense jungle covers both summits. Numerous hot springs and fumaroles are found on the northern and western flanks of the volcano. To the northeast, at 820 metres in a ravine of 180 metres longitude, there are fumaroles—fountains of clear and muddy water or small volcanoes of mud.

San Miguel

Stratovolcano · 2,130 m · Last eruption: 2023

San Miguel is a stratovolcano in central-eastern El Salvador, approximately 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) southwest of the city of San Miguel. On January 16, 2002, a minor eruption of steam, gas, and ash occurred from the summit crater, lasting 3 hours but causing no real damage to life or property. Carbon dioxide emissions had been monitored since November 2001, and their steady increase continued to build up until the eruption.

Apaneca Range

Stratovolcano · 2,028 m · Last eruption: Not available

Cordillera de Apaneca is a volcanic mountain range in western El Salvador. It consists mainly of volcanoes. Ilamatepec volcano, one of the most active in the region, is a part of this range.

Izalco

Stratovolcano · 1,950 m · Last eruption: 1966

Izalco is an active stratovolcano on the side of the Santa Ana Volcano, which is located in western El Salvador. It is situated on the southern flank of the Santa Ana volcano. Izalco erupted almost continuously from 1770 to 1958 earning it the nickname of "Lighthouse of the Pacific", and experienced a flank eruption in 1966. During an eruption in 1926, the village of Matazano was buried and 56 people were killed. The volcano erupted on highly arable land which was used for the production of coffee, cacao, and sugar cane.

San Salvador

Stratovolcano · 1,893 m · Last eruption: 1917

The San Salvador Volcano is a stratovolcano situated northwest to the city of San Salvador. The crater has been nearly filled with a relatively newer edifice, the Boquerón volcano. San Salvador is adjacent to the volcano and the western section of the city actually lies among its slopes. Due to this close proximity, any geological activity of the volcano, whether eruptive or not, has the potential to result in catastrophic destruction and death to the city. Despite this, the volcano is iconic of the city, and several TV and radio antennas are situated on the El Picacho peaks and the crater of Boqueron. El Picacho, the prominent peak is the highest elevation.

Short descriptions: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Frequently asked questions about volcanoes in El Salvador

How many volcanoes are there in El Salvador?
The Holocene catalogue of the Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program lists 17 volcanoes in El Salvador. It covers volcanoes with eruptions during the last roughly 12,000 years.
Which volcano in El Salvador is the highest?
The highest recorded volcano is Santa Ana at 2,381 m.
When was the last documented eruption in El Salvador?
The most recent eruption documented in the catalogue dates from 2023 (San Miguel).
Are the volcanoes in El Salvador active?
None of the 17 volcanoes currently has an eruption report. That does not mean they are extinct – source coverage differs from volcano to volcano.
Why does the map show aircraft around volcanoes?
Volcanic ash endangers aircraft engines. The map therefore shows live positions within 50 km of a volcano so that the proximity of air traffic to an active volcano becomes visible.
Where does the data on this page come from?
Catalogue data and eruption history from the Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program, significant eruptions from NOAA NCEI, alert levels and bulletins from USGS, GeoNet and INGV, earthquakes from the QuakeMap24 database, flight positions from ADSB.lol.

Volcanoes in other countries

Countries with at least 5 volcanoes in the catalogue.

All countries with volcanoes

Sources and data dates

Everything shown comes from the public sources listed below and is updated automatically.

QuakeMap24 is not a warning authority. Follow the responsible authorities when making local decisions.