Volcano in Nicaragua
Masaya volcano: eruption status today
Updated
Masaya is active now: NASA lists an open volcanic activity event (latest report Apr 26, 2026) 1 satellite hot spot within 10 km. 0 earthquakes within 50 km in the past 7 days.
Live status of Masaya: whether it is erupting now, satellite hot spots, earthquakes around it, and what an eruption would mean for nearby cities and flights.
- Status now
- Active (NASA EONET) latest report Apr 26, 2026
- Last eruption
- 1964 or later last significant: -4050
- Elevation
- 594 m 1,949 ft
- Type
- Caldera
- Earthquakes within 50 km
- 2 past 30 days (USGS)
- Hot spots within 10 km
- 1 latest NASA FIRMS VIIRS data
- Nearest city
- Masaya 8 km E
Is Masaya erupting right now?
NASA's Earth Observatory Natural Event Tracker (EONET) has an open volcanic event for Masaya, last updated Apr 26, 2026 (183 days ago). EONET opens an event when agencies such as the Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program report eruptive activity or unrest, and closes it when activity ends.
NASA FIRMS shows 1 thermal hot spot within 10 km of the summit in the latest VIIRS satellite passes (strongest 5.9 MW fire radiative power). Hot spots on a volcano can be lava, a glowing vent or ordinary vegetation fires; satellites cannot tell them apart on their own.
Earthquakes near Masaya
USGS located 2 earthquakes within 50 km of Masaya in the past 30 days, 0 of them in the last week. The largest was M4.8 on Oct 9, 2026, 45 km SSE of the summit at 166 km depth.
0 of them were shallower than 10 km. Swarms of shallow quakes can mean magma or gas is moving, but most swarms end without an eruption; observatories combine them with ground deformation and gas data.
| Time (UTC) | Magnitude | Distance | Depth | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 9, 12:33 UTC | M4.8 | 45 km SSE | 166 km | 17 km S of Nandaime, Nicaragua |
| Oct 5, 01:20 UTC | M4.4 | 38 km WNW | 168 km | 11 km N of Villa El Carmen, Nicaragua |
About Masaya
Masaya is a caldera in Nicaragua, rising to 594 m (1,949 ft). NOAA NCEI classes its eruptive history as "Historical".
A caldera is a large collapse depression left after a major eruption; activity can range from small steam blasts to rare, very large eruptions.
The nearest large town is Masaya, about 8 km E of the summit; 5 other cities lie within 250 km.
- Masaya (8 km) earthquakes nearby
- Managua (19 km) earthquakes nearby
- Granada, Granada Department (24 km) earthquakes nearby
- León (92 km) earthquakes nearby
- Matagalpa (108 km) earthquakes nearby
- Chinandega (127 km) earthquakes nearby
Flights and volcanic ash
No major hub airport is within 400 km (the closest is Cancún, 1009 km away), but ash clouds from explosive eruptions can drift for thousands of kilometres along flight routes.
Volcanic Ash Advisory Centres (VAACs) issue the official ash advisories that airlines and air traffic control follow.
Other volcanoes in Nicaragua
Nicaragua has 9 volcanoes on this site that erupted since 1900 or are active now, 1 of them with an open NASA activity report today. The closest other one is Momotombo, 63 km away.
Nearby volcanoes
Volcanoes in Nicaragua
More
Data: NOAA NCEI Volcano Locations, NASA EONET (open volcano events), USGS earthquakes, NASA FIRMS (VIIRS hot spots), Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program.