Masaya, the “Mouth of Hell”, Nicaragua: Volcanological interpretation of the myths, legends and anecdotes

Nicaragua's conquest started only 30years after Christopher Columbus arrived to America in 1492. At that moment the Masaya and Momotombo volcanoes were erupting simultaneously. The former was the first permanent lava lake observed by Europeans, and this produced a strong impression and interest in it. For more than a century there was great controversy over the nature of this phenomenon. Some people believed that it was the Mouth of Hell, whereas others could greedily see in the lava a source of gold or silver. This fact led to many attempts trying to prove it. In this paper, aboriginal myths about the volcano are described as well as different ideas and “supported evidence” given by the Spaniards regarding whether it was or not indeed the Mouth of Hell. Moreover, the first detailed geological descriptions are exposed as well as interesting interpretations found in the chronicles. It is also narrated the first descent into the volcano's mouth to extract samples of that “gold”, a real exploit for that time. From these descriptions, a volcanological interpretation is proposed, which is a contribution to the understanding of the eruptive history and evolution of the Masaya volcanic complex, one of the largest, shallow magma chamber systems in Central America.