* Astronomy

This astronaut photograph of Cosiguina volcano was acquired on November 17, 2007, with a Kodak 760C digital camera using an 180 mm lens, and is provided by the ISS Crew Earth Observations experiment and the Image Science & Analysis Laboratory.
On the southern boundary of the Gulf of Fonseca is a peninsula formed by the Cosiguina stratovolcano, formed by alternating layers of solidified lava and volcanic rocks produced by explosive eruptions. The summit crater is filled with a lake (Laguna Cosigüina). The volcano last erupted in 1859, but its most famous activity occurred in 1835 when it produced the largest historical eruption in Nicaragua. Ash from the 1835 eruption has been found in Mexico, Costa Rica, and Jamaica.


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Credit NASA

The volcano has been quiet since 1859, only an instant in terms of geological time. An earthquake swarm was measured near Cosigüina in 2002, indicating that tectonic forces are still active in the region although the volcano is somewhat isolated from the line of more recently active Central American volcanoes to the northwest and southeast. Intermittently observed gas bubbles in Laguna Cosigüina and a hot spring along the eastern flank of the volcano are the only indicators of hydrothermal activity at the volcano. The fairly uniform vegetation cover on the volcanos sides also attest to a general lack of gas emissions or hot spots on the 872-meter-high cone.