Late Holocene volcanic stratigraphy and eruption chronology of the dacitic Young Doña Juana volcano, Colombia

Abstract

We present the late Holocene eruption history of the poorly known Doña Juana volcanic complex, in SW Colombia, which last erupted in the twentieth century. This represents a case study for potentially active volcanism in the rural Northern Andes, where tropical climate conditions and a fragmented social memory blur the record of dormant volcanoes. We reconstructed the volcanic stratigraphy of the central-summit vent area by integrating new mapping at 1:5000 scale with radiocarbon ages, sedimentology analysis, and historical chronicles. Our results revealed cyclic transitions from lava-dome growth phases and collapse to explosive Vulcanian and possibly subplinian phases. Pyroclastic density currents were generated by dome collapse producing block-and-ash flows or by pyroclastic fountain/ column collapse and were rapidly channelized into the deeply incised fluvial valleys around the volcano summit. The pyroclastic density currents were ~4–10 × 10⁶ m³ in volume and deposited under granular flow– or fluid escape–dominated depositional regimes at high clast concentrations. In places, more dilute upper portions reached a wider areal distribution that affected the inhabited areas on high depositional terraces. The coefficient of friction (ΔH/L) is higher for block-and-ash flows and dense lava–bearing fountain/low-column-collapse pyroclastic density currents compared to pumice-bearing, column-collapse pyroclastic density currents. Associated mass-wasting processes included syneruptive and intereruptive debris flows, with the last one documented in 1936 CE.