January 20, 1835 Eruption of Cosiguina

Name: January 20, 1835 Eruption of Cosiguina
Start: 1835-01-20
Location: Cosiguina, Nicaragua

January 20, 1835 · VEI 5 · Deaths: few

Cosiguina in Nicaragua erupted on January 20, 1835 with a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 5.

Where it erupted

Cosiguina, Nicaragua, with its other significant eruptions.

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The eruption

Date: January 20, 1835
Volcano: Cosiguina, stratovolcano
Country: Nicaragua
Volcanic Explosivity Index: 5, very large (eruption column over 25 km)
Killed by: Gas (from eruptive craters, fumaroles and solfataras); Indirect deaths (disease, starvation, exposure)
Location: 12.980° N, 87.570° W

The toll

Deaths: Few (about 1 to 50)

Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.

What the record says

NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.

Despite the magnitude of the eruption there were few fatalities in this sparsely populated region; a few cattle ranchers near the base of the volcano and some fishermen in a boat offshore. Johnston-Lavis reports deaths from "mephitic vapors". Galindo reports the death of a 7 year old girl at Union with sore throat believed to be caused by dust, and the death of 7 people in Leon on Jan 23.

Other significant eruptions of Cosiguina

August 3, 1951tsunami

Every eruption in 1835 The 1800s Cosiguina Earthquakes near Cosiguina This day in weather history

Sources

Volcanoes and significant eruptions from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. Volcano numbers are the Smithsonian Institution’s Global Volcanism Program’s. NCEI event 3688.