The Eruption of Paricutin

David Haun writes on YAHOO group life-in-mexico that his hobby is collecting antique postcards of Michoacan and displaying them on his website.  For the February 20 anniversary of the Paricutin eruption, he displayed his Paricutin postcards in chronological order, beginning with Dr. Atl, the famous scientist and artist who traveled the world, studying and painting volcanoes.  

In this collection is the earliest known photograph of the Volcano Paracutin, also the second earliest, the obliteration of surrounding villages, and the partial submersion of the famous church at Parangaricutiro. 

The 1940's was the golden age of "real-photo" postcards in Mexico and many famous photographers were already in the area.  Because of that, the eruption of Paricutin became the most photographed, painted and publicized event in history.

 

Once at his website, check out his other "Postcard..." collections, including a large display of Feather Art Postcards from Tzintzuntzan.  Feliz viaje, David 

http://www.lakepatzcuaro.org/PostCard6.html

What was the eruption of Paricutin?

"On February 20, 1943 a farmer, Dionisio Pulido, and his wife Paula were burning shrubbery in their cornfield when they observed the earth in front of them swell upward and crack to form a fissure 2-2.5 m across. They heard hissing sounds and later described the rise of "smoke" from the fissure, which had the repugnant smell of rotten eggs."

"Within 24 hours the eruption had generated a 50-m-high scoria cone. Within a week, it had grown to a height of 100 m from the accumulation of bombs and lapilli, and finer fragments of ash were raining down on the village of Paricutin. The eruption became more powerful in March, generating eruptive columns several kilometers high. Occassionally, the volcano would exhibit vulcanian-type activity, with large canon-like explosions separated by short periods of silence. On June 12, a lobe of lava began to advance toward Paricutin village and people began to evacuate the village the following day. The larger village of San Juan Parangaricutiro was evacuated a few months later. By August 1944, most of the villages of Paricutin and San Juan were covered in lava and ash. All that remained of San Juan were two church towers that stood above a sea of rugged lava."

The eruption ceased in 1952. The final height of the scoria cone was 424 m.