ABSTRACT
The Central American volcanic front (CAVF) contains approximately fifty active or potentially active edifices that are highly variable in height, volume, composition and morphology [1-3]. There are approximately ten volcanoes engaged in various levels of eruption at any time [4]. Historic activity has included major destructive eruptions, such as Santa María, Guatemala in 1902 [5], or the 300 AD eruption of Ilopango in El Salvador [6]. The volcanoes range from high, elegant stratocones in Guatemala, with edifice heights of up to 3 km, to low lava-dominated shields in the central part of Nicaragua with heights of less than one kilometer. There is a great range of variability in eruption styles, associated deposits and subsequent erosion that has lead to the development of a very complex topography. This volcanic topography has controlled the emplacement of volcanic deposits such as lava flows, pyroclastic flows and lahars and is a major factor in the evolution of human settlement. Because of this, a good knowledge and understanding of volcanic landforms is essential for the management of natural hazards. Due to recent information obtained by satellite mapping missions, the quality of the topographic data over the whole area is greatly improved. In particular the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (STRM) of NASA has provided a regional digital elevation model (DEM) of 90 m spatial resolution, which is excellent for assessing large-scale volcano morphology. It is now possible to examine the volcanic landforms at a regional scale. This chapter presents a summary description of landforms throughout the active CAVF (Fig. 4.1).
