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Lake Ilopango from the rim of its caldera, with a small island

Volcanoes and lakes

Lake Ilopango, El Salvador

Lake Ilopango is the largest lake of El Salvador, with 72 km² of water more than 230 m deep, just east of San Salvador. It fills an 8 by 11 km caldera. Its eruption in the 5th century, the Tierra Blanca Joven, devastated early Maya settlements; the last eruption, in 1879–1880, formed the Islas Quemadas.

Updated November 2026 · Figures checked 9 November 2026

Photo: JMRAFFi, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Surface of the lake
72 km²1
Surface of the lake
Size of the caldera
8 × 11 km2
Size of the caldera
Last eruption
18802
Last eruption

Lake Ilopango, El Salvador

At a glance

At a glance
Lake Ilopango
Departments San Salvador, Cuscatlán and La Paz
Lake level 450 m
Depth More than 230 m
Last eruption 1879–1880, the Islas Quemadas

Source: El Salvador.com: the four lakes of El Salvador every visitor should know, 2026; Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program: Ilopango1,2

Map

Lake Ilopango 1 Lake Ilopango 2 Santa Ana volcano 3 Izalco volcano 4 San Vicente volcano 5 Lake Coatepeque 6 Lake Suchitlán 7 Los Volcanes National Park (Cerro Verde) 8 El Boquerón National Park
Volcano or national park Lake Places are approximate, from Wikidata and OpenStreetMap. Boundaries: geoBoundaries SLV ADM1 (OpenStreetMap contributors, CC BY-SA 2.0)2
  1. 1 Lake Ilopango Caldera lake, 72 km²
  2. 2 Santa Ana volcano 2,381 m; last eruption 2005
  3. 3 Izalco volcano 1,950 m; last eruption 1966
  4. 4 San Vicente volcano 2,149 m; two summit peaks
  5. 5 Lake Coatepeque Caldera lake, 25.3 km²
  6. 6 Lake Suchitlán Reservoir of the Cerrón Grande dam
  7. 7 Los Volcanes National Park (Cerro Verde) Cerro Verde, Santa Ana and Izalco
  8. 8 El Boquerón National Park The crater of the San Salvador volcano

The caldera

  • The Tierra Blanca Joven eruption: the 5th-century eruption of Ilopango devastated early Maya cities in the region.
  • The Islas Quemadas: lava domes rose in the lake in 1879–1880 and formed the islands, the last eruption of the caldera.

Source: Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program: Ilopango2

Visiting

Visitors dive, paddleboard, kayak, swim, fish and take boat trips; restaurants with views line the shore and the scenic road above it.3,1

For investors

Volcanoes bring geothermal power, fertile coffee land and visitors, and they also bring risk. For a hotel, a farm or a home near a volcano, ask your engineer and insurer about volcanic, landslide and seismic hazards before you buy.

Sources

  1. El Salvador.com: the four lakes of El Salvador every visitor should know, 2026 (in Spanish)
  2. Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program: Ilopango
  3. El Salvador Travel (Ministry of Tourism): Lake Ilopango

Figures checked 9 November 2026. Prepared by InvestSalvador.com for general information. Figures come from the sources listed.

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