Volcan Fuego, one of Central America's most active volcanoes, is one of three large stratovolcanoes overlooking Guatemala's former capital, Antigua. The scarp of an older edifice, Meseta, lies between Fuego and its twin volcano to the north, Acatenango. Collapse of the ancestral Meseta volcano about 8500 years ago produced the massive Escuintla debris-avalanche deposit, which extends about 50 kilometers onto the Pacific coastal plain. Growth of the modern Fuego volcano followed, continuing the southward migration of volcanism that began at Acatenango. Frequent vigorous historical eruptions have been recorded since 1524, and have produced major ashfalls, along with occasional pyroclastic flows and lava flows.