San Cristobal volcano erupts in Chinandega, around 150 kilometers from Managua, Nicaragua, on Saturday.
- San Cristobal Volcano erupts, government agency reports
- Eruption sends gas and ashes 2.5 miles into the sky
- The volcano's last known eruption was last year, a U.S. museum says
(CNN) -- A volcano in western Nicaragua erupted Saturday, shooting gas and ash 2.5 miles into the sky, a government agency said.
Explosions at San Cristobal Volcano, located in the department of Chinandega about 40 miles south of the Honduran border, began around 8:45 a.m. Saturday, according to an assessment from SINAPRED, Nicaragua's federal emergency and disaster management agency.
At about 1,745 meters (5,700 feet) San Cristobal is Nicaragua's tallest volcano, and is part of a complex consisting of five volcanic edifices, according to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.
Prior to Saturday, the last known eruption of San Cristobal -- which is also known as El Viejo -- was in 2011, the museum said.
