San Vicente Department - Volcano of San Vicente

Volcano of San Vicente

One of the most beautiful and imposing volcanoes of the coastal chain is the Chinchontepec or volcano of San Vicente, located in the confines of the department of the same name. Its almost perfect cone, as sugar pile, finishes off in two hill tops and this peculiarity gives origin to its nahuat name “Hill of two tits”.

The oriental summit was called “volcano of Zacatecoluca”, is the highest one at 2,173 meters over sea level and it presents a well formed and conserved crater whose bottom at 1,990 meters has a swamp in the stormy season.

The western summit, smaller at 2,083 meters, exhibits an open crater to the east.

Dense vegetation covers both summits. To the northeast, at 820 meters in a ravine of 180 meters of longitude, there are fumaroles; fountains of clear and muddy water or small volcanoes of mud. The most important is to the south of the geological fissure. These groups of phenomenon of geological action are called “infiernillos”. In them, the water is at temperatures of 60°C to 98°C and they contain great quantities of water vapor, sulfuric acid, sulfuric hydrogen, and carbonic acid.

The Valley of Jiboa expands to the northeast and north of the western summit. It is also called Valley of Millers.

Chichontepec Volcano has also in the midst of the valley, an important archeological site called "Tehuacan." This was a place of adoration to the aztec gods, and the found structures demonstrates the type of hierarchical organization their tribes had.