This project focuses on the proximal products of the cataclysmic phase (1982) of El Chichon Volcano which have not been studied in detail before. Specific goals are: (1) to document the stratigraphy of the proximal deposits, (2) to determine the facies distribution of various proximal flow and surge units, (3) determine the type of eruptive activity that produced the various proximal units, (4) to understand the nature of transport and deposition in the proximal environment, (5) to interpret surface characteristics of tephra in various bedding types by using an imaging analysis with the SEM, (6) to investigate the role of hydromagmatism, and (7) to mimic the eruptive history through 3-D modelling. The models developed will be important for mitigation of volcanic risks at their similar volcanoes.