Photographer: Cesar Cantu Quiroga

Summary Author: Cesar Cantu Quiroga

At the end of March, 2015, I was within a few miles of the most recent eruption of the Colima Volcano , in the Mexican state of Colima . Eruptive periods of this 12,631 ft (3,850 m) stratovolcano occurred in the early 1990s, from 1998 to 1999 and from 2001 to the present. Since November 2014 Colima, one of Mexico's most active volcanoes, has been particularly energetic. In this case, as with prior eruptions , a lava dome first formed and was followed by large explosions and pyroclastic flows . Much of the area surrounding Colima was doused in volcanic ash and tephra Because the material ejected by volcanoes typically has a strong positive charge, if the atmosphere is negatively charged, lightning can sometimes be observed in the vicinity of the volcano's summit. This photo was snapped on March 29, 2015, about 4 mi (6.5 km) from the base of the volcano.