Living Landscape
A descent into the soil of Acatenango volcano
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Step 1 of 7
The land
At 1,820 metres, on the flanks of Acatenango volcano, coffee grows in the shade of grevillea and inga trees. Everything you see rests on ash.
Step 2 of 7
The soil pit
To read a soil you have to open it. A soil pit is a metre-and-a-half excavation that exposes its layers, called horizons.
Step 3 of 7
Where the soil lives
The first 30 centimetres are dark and spongy. Fine roots, fungi and the organic matter that feeds the coffee grove concentrate here.
Step 4 of 7
The ash sponge
Further down, ash weathers into tiny minerals that hold water. That is why the coffee grove withstands the dry season.
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Deep roots
Coffee and shade-tree roots reach almost a metre deep, searching for water and holding the slope together.
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The origin
At the bottom, nearly intact ash and pumice. This is the material the volcano delivered thousands of years ago, from which everything above was born.
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One profile, many readings
Five horizons, a metre and a half, ten thousand years. Every profile in the museum can be read as a story, a lesson or a data table.