MANAGUA, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- San Cristobal, Nicaragua's highest volcano, returned to relative calm Monday following a series of eruptions that have shot gas, sand and ash into the sky since last Saturday.

Standing 1,745 meters high above the sea level in western Nicaragua, San Cristobal showed low-level activities, in which gas and steam emissions reached only 250 to 300 meters above the crater's western edge, according to the data from the Nicaraguan Institute of Territorial Studies (Ineter).

Researchers also found that concentrations of sulphur dioxide decreased sharply from last Sunday to Monday, which were measured in the nearby communities of Chinandega and El Guasaule.

Ineter Director Javier Mejia said his agency was also monitoring two other volcanoes, Telica and Apoyeque, because of their increased volcanic activities recently.

According to Ineter's latest report, Telica, located in western Leon province, currently is an active volcano, letting out a jet-like rumble and emitting columns of steam that went up hundreds of meters high. Telica's last major eruption was in 1984.

Apoyeque, located in Chiltepe Peninsula southwest of the capital Managua, caused the recent 7.6 magnitude earthquake that hit Nicaragua and Costa Rica on Sept. 6, said Mejia.

Meanwhile, Nicaragua's Agriculture and Forestry Minister Ariel Bucardo dismissed fears that volcano activities would affect crops and shrimp farms in northwest Nicaragua.

Bucardo said peanut farms, sugar cane fields and other agricultural businesses in western Nicaragua were operating normally, as was the nearby shrimp industry.

The Nicaraguan government issued a medium-level yellow alert that was still in effect in Chinandega, and a low-level green alert in Leon province, both in western Nicaragua. Enditem

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