Just Another Volcano for us

[Robert Watcher]

This morning we visited the San Salvador Volcano in El Salvador. It is easily accessible - most of the way by car, and then a 20 to 45 minute walk up steep stairs depending on which path you take. The day was hazy and overcast, which didn’t allow for nice clear views.

The crater, which gives it the present name (Boquerón means "big mouth" in Spanish) is 1.5 km in diameter and 500m deep. It is huge. Within the crater around the upper walls, crops are cultivated by the locals who live on the volcano.

A photo can never convey the immense size of the hollow below us. Standing on a lookout area, I fired off 7 shots to turn into a Panorama. I used Affinity Photo on my iPad Air to stitch the pano together. It matched things up well. The second image of the dome at the bottom of the crater was taken with an equivalent 300mm lens.

 

[Asher Kelman]

If this were to go off there’d be a bloody nuclear winter, for sure!

What is the schedule?

?

Asher

 

[Robert Watcher]

If this were to go off there’d be a bloody nuclear winter, for sure!

What is the schedule?

?

Asher

According to Wikipedia:

Due to this close proximity to San Salvador (2-1/2 million people), any geological activity of the volcano, whether eruptive or not, has the potential to result in catastrophic destruction and death to the city.

The most recent eruption in 1917 caused a flank eruption on the volcano along the N40W fissure. During this eruption, the crater lake inside the Boqueron evaporated and a cinder cone appeared, christened 'Boqueroncito'.

 

[Asher Kelman]

How large was the lake before it “vanished”?

Asher

 

[Susan Smitha]

You have taken an amazing photo. Greatly appreciated your work.

 

[Asher Kelman]

This morning we visited the San Salvador Volcano in El Salvador. It is easily accessible - most of the way by car, and then a 20 to 45 minute walk up steep stairs depending on which path you take. The day was hazy and overcast, which didn’t allow for nice clear views.

The crater, which gives it the present name (Boquerón means "big mouth" in Spanish) is 1.5 km in diameter and 500m deep. It is huge. Within the crater around the upper walls, crops are cultivated by the locals who live on the volcano.

A photo can never convey the immense size of the hollow below us. Standing on a lookout area, I fired off 7 shots to turn into a Panorama. I used Affinity Photo on my iPad Air to stitch the pano together. It matched things up well. The second image of the dome at the bottom of the crater was taken with an equivalent 300mm lens.

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What is “Dios Bendiga”?

Asher

 

[Asher Kelman]

What is “Dios Bendiga”?

View attachment 546​

Asher

“God Bless You”

Is that in piled up rocks?

Asher

 

[Peter Dexter]

Asher literally it means "God Blesses", not directed at anyone special.

 

[Asher Kelman]

Well then,

“Bendiga” would be a full statement to believers!

That’s a lot of rocks to move!

I wonder how that’s allowed on a national monument!

Is anyone allowed to leave messages? Here, National Park Rangers would haul the rocks away or use old pictures to restore the site!

Asher

 

[Peter Dexter]

I agree it's an unfortunate desecration of a natural site but no surprise in a third world Latin American country. "National Monuments" are often treated quite differently below and beyond the US border. Once while traveling in the Pinacate Biosphere Reseve in Mexico I came upon an obvious footpath running North /South through the desert marked occasionally with stones alongside. There were no "Park Service improvements" anywhere to be seen anywhere for miles around. I learned later that the trail was on the order of 500 years old (nothing ages in the desert) and used by Indians coming south from what is now Arizona to trade for salt on the coast of the Sea of Cortez. Were the trail in the US it would have a wheelchair accessible paved parallel access path or road with and descriptive signs every ten meters. I was very pleased to be able to enjoy the loneliness and privacy at the site.

 

[Asher Kelman]

One thing I learned from Mike Spinak, is not to disturb nature. He wanted me to ban a fellow for taking photographs of bears too close. The consequence is the bear then gets visits from naive photographers and someone gets killed so the park service has to kill the bear, and that might be a mother!

So Mike insists that such pioneering, “close to the wild” photographers are disgusting people!!

Anyway, Mike takes his shoes off on occasions when approaching rarely blooming wild flora so as not to damage a thing.

After he leaves, he rearranged the brush and leaves so it's as before he arrived and never even breaks a twig or leaves a wrapping as that would a clue to others to discover the rare flora’s secret location!

Asher

 

[Robert Watcher]

Well then,

“Bendiga” would be a full statement to believers!

That’s a lot of rocks to move!

I wonder how that’s allowed on a national monument!

Is anyone allowed to leave messages? Here, National Park Rangers would haul the rocks away or use old pictures to restore the site!

Asher

Yes that is a saying that Christians like to use. As I mentioned, the local people farm the land on the slopes inside the volcano.

I have no idea what was going on in that crater - it is a massive 1 1/2 KM across and so deep you can barely see the dome at the bottom - definitely not the words. We were up on the rim.



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