Volcano Type: Complex volcano
Volcano Status: Radiocarbon
Last Known Eruption: 320 BC ± 50 years
Summit Elevation: 5860 m 19,225 feet
Latitude: 18.10°S 18°6’0″S
Longitude: 69.50°W 69°30’0″W
The Taapaca volcanic complex, lying west of the main Andean chain, rises NE of the small town of Putre in northern Chile. The elongated volcanic massif, known locally as Nevados de Putre, consists of an initial andesitic stratovolcano and a long-term dacitic lava-dome complex. Taapaca overlies Pleistocene ignimbrite deposits and trends roughly E-W, with activity in general migrating to the SW during four principal periods of activity dating back at least 1.5 million years.
Taapaca Volcanic Complex (Arica Parinacota)
At least three major edifice collapse events have produced debris-avalanche deposits, the youngest of which underlies Putre, the principal settlement of the northern Chilean Altiplano. Recent geological studies have shown that explosive activity at Taapaca with dome growth and associated block-and-ash flows and lahars has continued into the late Holocene. The youngest volcanic stage beginning about 9000 years ago produced the 5860-m-high summit lava dome of the Putre Unit at the eastern and southern ends of the complex. The latest documented activity produced an ash layer dated at about 2000 years ago.
A view of Taapacá Volcano from far away (Gonzalo Contreras Velasquez)
Way to the top of Taapacá Volcano (Gonzalo Contreras Velasquez)
Summit of Taapacá Volcano (Hugo Cabrera Vásquez)
Taapaca Volcanic Complex (Kristi Diller)
Originally posted 2010-10-05 07:44:14.
