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Paricutin, also known as “the wonder of the cornfield”, is the most recent volcano to form in the Western Hemisphere. Paricutin is a part of the Mexican volcanic belt, which extends 1,200 km from west to east, from the Pacific Ocean to the Caribbean Sea. The volcanic activity here is related to the Middle American Trench, a subduction zone near Mexico’s Pacific coast. Paricutin stands near the city of Uruapan in southwestern Mexico, about two …

…violent explosions were frequent and violent. The final height of the scoria cone was four hundred and twenty-four meters. No one was killed by the lava or ash, but three people were killed by lightning associated with the eruption. It destroyed the villages of Paricutin, San Juan Parangaricutiru, leaving only a church tower, and also damaged nine other villages. Along with destroying the villages, it destroyed twenty-five square kilometers of farmland and forests into wasteland.