Recent Eruptions
With its almost continuous activity, the volcano has been a popular location for tourism. Pacaya is easily accessible from Guatemala City and from Antigua. The volcano and surrounding area now lie within the Pacaya National Park, which was created to supervise and protect tourism in this region. The Pacaya Park generates its income from tour groups who are charged a small fee to enter the park.
In 1998, several explosive eruptions emitted lava, debris and ash columns with a height of 1500 m - 5000 m. Ash fall affected nearby cities including Guatemala city and La Aurora airport.
During 2006, a slight increase in Pacaya's volcanic activity brought about the creation of several lava rivers that slowly flow down its slope. Word about these phenomena spread, and local tourism increased significantly.
Read more about this topic: Pacaya
Famous quotes containing the word eruptions:
“All great movements are popular movements. They are the volcanic eruptions of human passions and emotions, stirred into activity by the ruthless Goddess of Distress or by the torch of the spoken word cast into the midst of the people.”
—Adolf Hitler (1889–1945)