Geology for Global Development

Images of Guatemala (4) – Fiesta at Lake Atitlan

Fiesta at Lake Atitlan, Guatemala.

Guatemala is a country with many volcanic hazards, as shown in some of the previous images in this series, but also a country rich in culture and traditions. The image above was taken at the annual fiesta in San Pablo, a small town on the edge of Lake Atitlan. During the fiesta a religious procession goes through the streets, with firecrackers being lit in front of it. The volcano in the background is San Pedro, standing at just over 3000 metres in height. The volcano is a favourite for tourists to climb and provides excellent soil for the coffee growers around the lake. Although not active, it is associated with mass movement hazards. In 2010, during Tropical Storm Agatha, a mudslide was triggered that impacted the town at the base of the volcano, also called San Pedro.

(Credit: Geology for Global Development, 2014)

—-

Every Friday we are publishing an image from Guatemala to promote our ‘100 x 100’ fundraising campaign. We are working with students, recent graduates and others in the UK to raise money to support efforts to reduce the impact of volcanic hazards in Guatemala.

Find out more: www.gfgd.org/guatemala

Register your interest: Submit your information here

Joel is the Founder/Director of Geology for Global Development (@Geo_Dev) an organisation working to support geologists to make a sustainable contribution to the fight against global poverty. He is an interdisciplinary researcher, with a PhD in geography (natural hazards), and research interests in multi-hazard frameworks, disaster risk reduction, rural water projects, and sustainable development. This work has taken him to Chile, China, Guatemala, India, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda. Joel is currently based at the British Geological Survey, and tweets at @JoelCGill.