Taapaca Volcano
Updated: Apr 19, 2024 13:47 GMT -
complex volcano 5860 m / 19,225 ft
Northern Chile, Bolivia and Argentina (South America), -18.1°S / -69.5°W
Current status: normal or dormant (1 out of 5)
Northern Chile, Bolivia and Argentina (South America), -18.1°S / -69.5°W
Current status: normal or dormant (1 out of 5)
Taapaca is a complex volcano in northern Chile, located partly in Lauca National Park. There are no known historic eruptions, but there have been numerous explosive eruptions followin lava dome building stages occurred in the past few 1000 years.
3 large avalanches have occurred at the volcano.
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Taapaca volcano eruptions: 320 BC ± 50, 1580 BC ± 75, 1860 BC ± 100, 2400 BC ± 75, 2950 BC ± 75, 4620 BC ± 75, 5490 BC ± 50, 7900 BC ± 75
Latest nearby earthquakes
| Time | Mag. / Depth | Distance / Location | |||
| Apr 10, 01:02 pm (Santiago) | 4.3 10 km | 15 km (9.5 mi) to the SW |  65 km SE of Palca, Peru | Info | |
Background
from: Smithsonian / GVP Taapaca volcano information: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. 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.
Latest satellite images
