earth science

Nevado del Tolima

Nevado del Tolima is a earth science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Nevado del Tolima rather than just read about it. In short: The Nevado del Tolima is a Late Pleistocene to recently active andesitic stratovolcano located in the Tolima department, Colombia. The volcano lies south of Nevado del Ruiz volcano and is situated within the Los Nevados National Natural Park.

Key takeaways

Nevado del Tolima belongs to earth science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Nevado del Tolima to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Nevado del Tolima from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Nevado del Tolima is a Late Pleistocene to recently active andesitic stratovolcano located in the Tolima department, Colombia. The volcano lies south of Nevado del Ruiz volcano and is situated within the Los Nevados National Natural Park. The volcano, whose most recent activity dates to 1943 and last major eruption around 3600 years ago, overlies the Eocene El Bosque Batholith, dated at 49.1 ± 1.7 Ma.

Geography and geology The steep-sided, glacier-clad Nevado del Tolima volcano contrasts with the broad profile of Nevado del Ruiz to the north. The andesitic-dacitic younger Tolima formed during the past 40,000 years, rising above and largely obscuring a 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) wide Late Pleistocene caldera. The summit consists of a cluster of Late Pleistocene to Holocene lava domes that were associated with thick block-lava flows on the northern and eastern flanks, and extensive pyroclastic-flow deposits. The summit contains a funnel-shaped crater 200 to 300 metres (660 to 980 ft) deep. Holocene activity has included explosive eruptions ranging in size from moderate to plinian. The last major eruption took place about 3600 years ago. Lava dome growth has produced block and ash flows that traveled primarily to the northeast and southeast.

Hydrology The snow-capped Nevado del Tolima, with its almost symmetrical structure, has a radial drainage pattern in the upper part. The residual glacier on the top of the mountain feeds the rivers Totare, San Romualdo, Toche and Combeima. The latter is the main water source of the municipality of Ibagué. All these currents drain into the eastern slope of the Cordillera Central, directly into the Magdalena River.

Flora and Fauna Espeletia (commonly known as 'frailejones') The frailejon plant has evolved throughout the years to enhance its survival. It has the ability to absorb water from the atmosphere and can resist the freezing altitude temperatures of the páramo biome, where it is found.

Los Nevados National Park The Nevado del Tolima is located within the Los Nevados National Natural Park, In addition to the Nevado del Tolima, seven other volcanoes are located in the park: Nevado del Ruiz, Santa Isabel, Nevado del Quindío, Paramillo de Santa Rosa, Cerro Bravo, Cerro Machín and Nevado El Cisne. The park spans 58,300 hectares (144,000 acres) and stretches across the departments of Caldas, Quindío, Risaralda, and Tolima. The park is administratively part of the municipalities Villamaría, Santa Rosa de Cabal, Pereira, Salento, and Ibagué.

Eruptive history Holocene activity has included explosive eruptions ranging in size from moderate to plinian. The last major eruption took place about 3600 years ago. Lava dome growth has produced block and ash flows that traveled primarily to the NE and SE. Minor explosive eruptions have been recorded from Tolima in the 19th and 20th centuries.

See also List of volcanoes in Colombia List of mountains in Colombia List of volcanoes by elevation

References

Bibliography González, Humberto (2001). Geología de las planchas 206 Manizales y 225 Nevado del Ruiz - 1:100,000 - Memoria explicativa (PDF) (Report). INGEOMINAS. pp. 1–93. Retrieved 2017-06-09. Mosquera, D; Marín, P; Vesga, C; González, H (1998). Geología de la Plancha 225 - Nevado del Ruiz (PDF) (Map). INGEOMINAS. p. 1. Retrieved 2017-06-06.

External links Nevado del Tolima on summitpost Mountaineering and photography blog including different ascent routes

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Nevado del Tolima

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Nevado del Tolima claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In earth science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Nevado del Tolima before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Nevado del Tolima ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Nevado del Tolima

In research: Nevado del Tolima appears in earth science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Nevado del Tolima in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Nevado del Tolima is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Active volcanoes, Andean Volcanic Belt, Five-thousanders of the Andes, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Nevado del Tolima outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Nevado del Tolima in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Nevado del Tolima means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Nevado del Tolima out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Nevado del Tolima in simple terms?

Why does Nevado del Tolima matter?

Because it connects several earth science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Nevado del Tolima?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Nevado del Tolima.