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The twin peaks of the San Vicente volcano, Chichontepec, seen from the hills above Lake Ilopango

Volcanoes and lakes

San Vicente Volcano (Chichontepec), El Salvador

The San Vicente volcano, or Chichontepec, has two summit peaks and rises to 2,149 m in the centre of El Salvador. No eruption is known from the last 10,000 years, but its steep slopes are prone to landslides and lahars: in November 2009 mudflows hit Verapaz and Guadalupe. Hot springs on the north flank feed a geothermal field.

Updated November 2026 · Figures checked 9 November 2026

Photo: Arne Müseler, CC BY-SA 3.0 DE, via Wikimedia Commons

Summit
2,149 m1
Summit
Deaths reported by 22 November 2009 after the lahars of 7–8 November
1981
Deaths reported by 22 November 2009 after the lahars of 7–8 November
Geothermal pilot plant, since 2023
5 MW3
Geothermal pilot plant, since 2023

San Vicente Volcano (Chichontepec), El Salvador

At a glance

At a glance
San Vicente volcano
Other name Chichontepec
Department San Vicente and La Paz
Summit 2,149 m, two peaks
Last eruption None known in the Holocene
Geothermal A reservoir of about 12 km² under the north flank; a 5 MW LaGeo pilot plant since 2023

Source: Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program: San Vicente; Diario El Mundo: the San Vicente geothermal plant already generates 5 MW, 22 September 20251,3

Map

The San Vicente volcano 1 San Vicente volcano 2 San Miguel volcano 3 Lake Ilopango 4 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)1,2
  1. 1 San Vicente volcano 2,149 m; two summit peaks
  2. 2 San Miguel volcano Eruption from 2022 to 2023
  3. 3 Lake Ilopango Caldera lake, 72 km²
  4. 4 El Boquerón National Park The crater of the San Salvador volcano

The volcano

  • No recent eruption: the Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program knows of no eruption in the last 10,000 years; reports of eruptions in 1643 and 1835 are false.
  • Landslides and lahars: the M6.6 earthquake of 13 February 2001 triggered landslides that killed 39 people. On 7–8 November 2009 heavy rain sent lahars into Verapaz and Guadalupe; 198 deaths had been reported by 22 November.

Source: Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program: San Vicente1

Geothermal power

Hot springs on the north flank sit above a geothermal reservoir of about 12 km². LaGeo has fed 5 MW from a pilot plant at San Vicente into the national grid since 2023.1,3

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. Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program: San Vicente
  2. Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program: Ilopango
  3. Diario El Mundo: the San Vicente geothermal plant already generates 5 MW, 22 September 2025 (in Spanish)

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

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