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Jan 12, 2011

Volcano Paricutín

Parícutin (or Volcan de Parícutin, also accented Paricutín) is a cinder cone volcano in Mexico's Michoacán state, close to a lava-covered village of the same name. It appears in many versions of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. Paricutín is part of the Michoacán-Guanajuato Volcanic Field, which covers a lot of west central Mexico. 
The volcano began as a gap in the cornfield owned by a farmer P'urhépecha, Dionisio Pulido, on February 20, 1943. Pulido, his wife and son they all witnessed the initial eruption of ash and rock first hand as they plowed the field. The volcano grew rapidly, reaching five stories tall in just a week, and can be seen from far in a month. Most of the growth of the volcano occurred during the first year, while it is still in the explosive pyroclastic phase. Villages nearby Paricutín (after the volcano was named) and San Juan Parangaricutiro both buried in lava and ash, residents moved to vacant land nearby.

At the end of this stage, after approximately one year, the volcano has grown to 336 meters (1,100 feet). During the next eight years the volcano would continue erupting, although this is dominated by relatively quiet eruptions of lava that will consume about 25 km ² (9.7 mi ²) of land. Volcanic activity would slowly decline during this period to six months of the last eruption, in which violent and explosive activity was frequent. In 1952 the eruption ended and Parícutin go quietly, reaching the final height of 424 meters (1390 feet) from the cornfield where he started. The volcano has been quiet since. Like most cinder cone, believed Parícutin monogenetic volcano, which means that after completion erupt, it will not erupt again. Every new eruption in the field of monogenetic volcano erupted in the new location.

Volcanic is a common part of the landscape of Mexico. Parícutin was the youngest of more than 1,400 volcanic vents that exist in the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt and North America. The mountain is unique in the fact that its formation was witnessed from its very beginning. Three people died as a result of lightning strikes caused by the eruption, but no deaths caused by lava or shortness of breath.

A shot from the volcano during the active phase were included in the 20th Century Fox film Captain from Castile, which was released in 1947.

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