| • Science | • People | • Locations | • Timeline |
| Nevado del Ruiz | |
|---|---|
Steam eruption in September, 1985. | |
| Elevation: | 5,389 m (17,784 ft) |
| Latitude: | 4° 53′ N |
| Longitude: | 75° 22′ W |
| Location: | Colombia |
| Range: | Andes |
| Type: | Stratovolcano |
| First ascent: | 1936 by M. Rapp and party |
Nevado del Ruiz is a volcano in Colombia.
On November 13, 1985, Nevado del Ruiz erupted. Pyroclastic flows melted ice and snow at the summit. This melt formed lahars that rushed down several river valleys. The lahars were up to 50 meters thick and travelled more than 100 kilometers.
Many houses and towns were devastated by the lahars. The town of Armero, Colombia was completely covered by debris. Approximately 21,000 people (out of 28,700) died in Armero. The eruption caused an estimated 23,000 deaths, 5,000 injuries, and destroyed more than 5,000 homes. This was the second-deadliest volcanic disaster in the 20th century19th century 20th century 21st century more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901- 2000 in the sense of the Gre (the 1902Events January-April January 28 The Carnegie Institution is founded in Washington, DC with a $10 million gift from Andrew Carnegie. France, Loisy's L'evangile et l'Eglise which inaugurates the Modernist Crisis February 11 Police beat up universal suffrage eruption of Mount PeléeMount Pelee ( French: Montagne Pelee is an active volcano on the northern tip of the French departement of Martinique in the Caribbean. Though it was previously considered extinct, Mount Pelee erupted on May 8, 1902, destroying the town of Saint Pierre, a was the worst).