https://www.earthmagazine.org/tags/ilopango/ Recent content in Ilopango on EARTH Magazine Hugo en-US American Geosciences Institute. All rights reserved. Sat, 25 Feb 2012 13:22:01 -0500 https://www.earthmagazine.org/article/aag-eruption-el-salvadors-ilopango-explains-ad-536-cooling/ Sat, 25 Feb 2012 13:22:01 -0500 https://www.earthmagazine.org/article/aag-eruption-el-salvadors-ilopango-explains-ad-536-cooling/ <figure class="earth-figure"> <img src="https://www.americangeosciences.org/static/earth/aag-eruption-el-salvadors-ilopango-explains-ad-536-cooling/Ilopango.jpg" alt="A massive eruption of Ilopango volcano in El Salvador, today a crater lake, may have triggered the global climate cooling of A.D. 536. The only historical eruption at Ilopango took place in 1879-1880, during which a lava dome formed creating the Islas Quemadas in the central part of the lake. NASA Earth Observatory" loading="eager" decoding="async"> <figcaption>A massive eruption of Ilopango volcano in El Salvador, today a crater lake, may have triggered the global climate cooling of A.D. 536. The only historical eruption at Ilopango took place in 1879-1880, during which a lava dome formed creating the Islas Quemadas in the central part of the lake. NASA Earth Observatory</figcaption> </figure> <p>El Salvador&rsquo;s Lake Ilopango, near the capital city of San Salvador, is known for boating, diving and the rugged, scenic beauty of its 100 meter-tall cliffs --- the lip of the caldera that holds the lake. However, 1,500 years ago, it may have been the site of one of the most horrific natural disasters in the world. It may also be the long-sought cause of the extreme climate cooling and crop failures of A.D. 535-536, reported Robert A. Dull of the University of Texas at Austin at the <a href="http://www.aag.org/cs/annualmeeting/schedule_and_program">Association of American Geographers</a> annual meeting in New York this week.</p>