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Recent volcanism in Masaya-Granada Area, Nicaragua

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Abstract

Masaya-Granada area is located in the middle part of the Central American volcanic zone. A basaltic shield volcano with a caldera, an acidic pyroclastic flow plateau with a caldera, cinder cones, maars, a lava dome and a composite andesitic volcano were formed by recent volcanic activities. Magmas of basic and intermediate ejecta are supposed to be formed by partial melting of the upper mantle material. Most of basalts and andesites was derived from common parental magma after crystallization differentiation history, but some basalts, which have extremely high MgO content and low K2O content might be derived from primary magma of different type. There is no evidence to deny the possibility of differentiation product of acidic rock from basic magma, but compositional gap on variation diagram suggest the possibility of partial melting origin. Strike-slip fault systems might have been formed in association with plate movement, and fluidal basaltic magma was erupted also along these fault zones.

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Ui, T. Recent volcanism in Masaya-Granada Area, Nicaragua. Bull Volcanol 36, 174–190 (1972). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02596989

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