Galeras, Columbia

Major volcano discussed in Chapter 15

Galeras has erupted more than 20 times since the 1500s. Named a United Nations Decade Volcano.  It poses a significant threat to the city of Pasto, population 400,000, just 8 kilometers (5 miles) from the volcano.  The most recent volcanic activity began in 1988, and detailed monitoring of SO2 emissions began at that time.  Galeras came to the forefront of attention by the volcanological community, as well as the news media in general, when it erupted unexpectedly on January 14, 1993 during a field excursion that was part of a scientific meeting at Galeras.  Nine people were killed during a field trip into the crater, including six volcanologists and three tourists.  One of the field trip leaders, Stan Williams (Arizona State University), had felt the conditions were safe based on low SO2 emissions.  However, seismic evidence for danger, which was worked out by U.S. Geological Survey seismologist Bernard Chouet, may have suggested otherwise.  Stan Williams was nearly killed in the eruption, with severe injuries to his head and legs.  After the tragedy, Stan Williams came under great criticism regarding the decision to run the field trip, and there are legitimate arguments on both sides of the controversy.  It is important to remember that predicting eruptions is still very uncertain, and, of course, hindsight is always 20:20.  There are two books that take opposite sides on the Galeras tragedy:

S. Williams and F. Montaigne, Surviving Galeras, 2001, Boston, Houghton Mifflin.

V. Bruce, No apparent danger : the true story of volcanic disaster at Galeras and Nevado Del Ruiz, 2001, New York, HarperCollins.

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Copyright by Clark Johnson (1998)

Last modified December 11, 2006 by C. Johnson