Perú

The OVS/IG-Peru released a statement this week about the current rumbling at El Misti. The volcano is beginning to show more signs of a potential renewal of eruptive activity, which would be its first since the 15th century. There have been several periods of very intense fumarolic activity at the volcano since that 15th century event, but Peruvian officials are taking no chances as almost 1 million people live within 30 kilometers of the volcano. This statement was meant to be a reminder to the people living in Arequipa that they live next to a potentially active volcano, so they should plan accordingly by not building onto the sides of the volcano or within drainages leading from the volcano. They also remind officials that plans for evacuations should be ready if the need arises. If anything does begin to happen, you can check out an OVI webcam of El Misti.

Ecuador

There were some strange reports coming out of Ecuador today about steaming ground found ~45 kilometers southwest of Chimborazo, a volcano that hasn’t erupted since ~550 A.D. A crack in the ground with steam pouring from it and, in some spots, glowing, was found in Colta. The ground and the crack don’t appear to be hot enough to keep people away, as many of the photos show locals and officials getting close to this anomaly. There are no reports of seismicity in the area preceding this event and all the Instituto Geofisica has said is that they are aware of the crack and they are continuing to investigate its nature.

Now, some speculated that this crack is actually volcanic in origin—mostly, it seems, based on its vague proximity to Chimborazo. They point to the glowing seen underground at the crack as evidence that this is lava. However, chemical analysis of the steam and gas being emitted found that it was volcanic. The most likely culprit is burning of subsurface organic material—possibly coal or peat—that may have been ignited by fires started by local residents.