Paricutín
Paricutín, volcano, western Michoacán state, west-central Mexico, just north of the Tancítaro Peak and 20 miles (32 km) west-northwest of Uruapan. It formed as a result of a nine-year eruption, from 1943 to 1952, that began in an open field. It is one of the youngest volcanoes on Earth.
On February 20, 1943, after several weeks of earthquakes, Paricutín began to erupt, throwing ash and lava out of an open field. Debris and fire destroyed and buried two villages and hundreds of homes.
In the first year, the volcano’s cinder cone had risen 1,475 feet (450 meters) from the base (at 7,480 feet [2,280 meters] above sea level) and had buried the village of Paricutín. Its peak had reached an elevation of 9,210 feet (2,808 meters) in 1952, when the eruptions finally ended and Paricutín became dormant.
No deaths were recorded as a direct result of the volcano’s eruption, according to a 1979 report, but thousands of people were displaced and lost their homes, land, and livelihoods. A 1956 report noted that, while loss of farmland was considerable, the eruption had varying effects on plants and animals. The partially buried church of San Juan Parangaricutiro at the edge of the village of Paricutín is a local tourist attraction.
