Overview
- Dionisio Pulido observed the ground open on February 20, 1943, making Parícutin the only 20th‑century volcano documented from its first moments and even assigned a birth certificate.
- The eruption ran for roughly nine years, with the last activity recorded on March 4, 1952, and specialists say the edifice will not reactivate.
- The cone rose about 30 meters on day one and to roughly 336 meters within a year, ultimately reaching about 424 meters in height.
- Lava buried the towns of Parícutin and San Juan Viejo Parangaricutiro, prompting more than 3,000 evacuations, and reporting notes no loss of life as church remnants still protrude from the flows.
- Communities are marking the anniversary today in San Juan Viejo with guided ascents, school presentations, Purépecha dances, evening illumination of the ruins, and fireworks, as tourism continues to center on the site.