Santa María volcano is a large stratovolcanoes that
rises to 3772 m above the Pacific coastal plain of Guatemala.
It is a sharp-topped cone that is cut on the SW flank by a
1.5-km-wide crater.
The oval-shaped crater extends from just below the summit
to the lower flank.
It was formed during a catastrophic eruption in 1902, the
third largest of the 20th century.
That plinian eruption followed a long repose period after
construction of the large basaltic-andesite stratovolcano.
The massive dacitic Santiaguito lava-dome complex has been
growing at the base of the 1902 crater since 1922.
It is currently (Oct. 2004) producing a plume which rises
9 Km and pyroclastic flows.
Though I can find no documentation of the fact, it seems highly
probable that Santa Maria was the "model"
for the emblems of the municipalities of both Quezaltenango
and San Carlos shown in the stamps below.
Stamps courtesy of Lisa Heiman
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