volcanoes
Quimsachata
Quimsachata (Kimsachata) is the northernmost active volcano in Peru and located
at the foot of the Cordillera Oriental in an isolated area far east of the main
volcanic front.
It consists a group of 2 vents: Quimsachata, an older
andesitic cinder cone surrounded by a lava shield, which erupted ca. 11,500
years ago, and a younger rhyolitic lava dome, Oroscocha, that erupted ca. 6400
years ago and produced a short, thick lava flow.
Cerro Auquihuato
Cerro Auquihuato volcano is a young, 380 m high cinder cone in southern
Perú, located about 30 km NE of Sara Sa'ra volcano.
Satellite images show a young lava flow with
prominent channel structures. The flow extends 9 km south of the volcano.
Sara Sa'ra
Sara Sa'ra volcano is a glacier-covered stratovolcano in SW Perú, located
between Laguna Parinacocha and the Río Ocona. It is the westernmost of Peru's
active volcanoes.
the volcano has erupted large andesitic lava flows that
extended 10 km eastward into the Río Ocona valle. Relatively undisturbed tephra
and lava flow deposits on the upper slope of the volcano suggest that the last
activity of volcano was (geologically) recent, and probably less than 10,000
years ago.
Andahua-Orcopampa
The Andahua-Orcopampa volcanic field is a 50 km x 30 km large field of
monogenetic vents in the Andahua valley area, 20 km ENE of Nevados de Coropuna
stratovolcano. It is known locally as the "Valley of the Volcanoes". The
field contains scoria cones and lava flows, some of which are very young and
from historic eruptions.
Strombolian eruptions and lava flows have destroyed
buildings from the time of the Incas, and there were uncertain reports of
activity in 1913. Lava flows have repeatedly dammed the Río Andagua valley
modified the local topography.
The Andahua–Orcopampa volcanic field contains more than 40
cones, up to 300 m high and 500-650 m across. It lies in a series of deep
NNW-SSE-trending, on echelon valleys: Orcopampa, Andahua and Ayo. It belongs
to the magmatic arc of the Western Cordillera, which produces andesitic to
dacitic volcanoes built on 60–80 km thick continental crust and is located about
120–130 km above the Wadati–Benioff zone.
Nevado Coropuna
Nevado Coropuna volcano in southern Peru is the largest and highest active
volcano in Peru. It rises majestically 4500 m from the surrounding terrain and
forms an 10x20 km E-W elongated complex. The massive ice-covered complex has at least 6 summit cones. The flanks of the volcano are characterized by deep canyons.
There have been no recorded eruptions and the age of the last
eruption is unknown, but there is solfataric activity suggesting that the
volcano might still be active.
Sabancaya
Sabancaya volcano (its name meaning "tongue of fire" in Quechua Indian
language) is located in the southern Peruvian Andes and one of Peru's most
active volcanoes.
The stratovolcano is covered with several glaciers and
located in the saddle between the older stratovolcanoes Ampato (6288 m) and
Hualca Hua'lca (6025 m) and the only one of the group that has erupted in
historic times.
Sabancaya belongs to one of South America's volcanoes with
the oldest recorded history of eruptions. Historic records of eruptions from
Sabancaya date back to 1750, but its name already appears in written accounts
from 1595 AD, suggesting that it had been active around or before that date as
well.
Both Nevado Ampato and Nevado Sabancaya show only little
erosion due to glacial cover, suggesting that much of their summit edifices are
geologically young.
Activity within the past 10,000 years consisted of
explosive plinian eruptions followed by effusive eruptions of voluminous
andesitic and dacitic lava flows. These flows surround the volcano on all sides
except the north flank.
Huambo
Huambo is a monogenetic volcanic field in southern Peru, SSE of the
Andahua-Orcocampo volcanic field and west of Sabancaya volcano.
The Huambo field is divided into 2 segments. The southern part contains several cinder
cones and associated lava flows, some of which might be less than 10,000 years
old, judging from their fresh morphology.
The northern part of the field
consists of a single vent, the Cerro Keyocc cinder cone, which produced an
extensive lava field that covered the plateau to the west during an eruption at
about 2650 years ago.
Nevado Chachani
Nevado Chachani is a large stratovolcano in southern Peru, 25 km from Arequipa,
Peru's 2nd largest city. The volcano is covered by permanent ice and snow.
Nevado Chachani volcano forms a 320 sq. km complex of lava
domes, a central stratovolcano and a flank shield volcano, suggesting a
migration of vents from N towards SW:
1) Cerro Nocarane and Cerro Penones are
2 lava domes on the north flank. These domes are older than the last ice
age.
2) The Nevados de Chachani stratovolcano itself, probably still
active.
3) The 8 km diameter lava shield Pampa de Palacio (Las Cortaderas) on
the south flank. The most recent eruptions of the volcano occurred here, forming
a thick lava field.
Cerro Nicholson
Cerro Nicholson volcano is a small isolated andesitic scoria cone in Southern
Peru. It is located on a plain WSW of Chachani volcano and WNW of El Misti
volcano.
The crater of the Cerro Nicholson cone has a youthful appearance
and is full of fresh-looking volcanic bombs, suggesting a relatively young age.
It is similar to the Andahua scoria cones farther to the north.
Cerro Nicholson overlies a thick layer of a
1.65-million-year-old ignimbrite deposit (the Arequipa Airport Ignimbrite),
which was erupted from an ancient and buried vent beneath the Chachani volcano.
El Misti
The majestic El Misti volcano is Peru's most known and one of its most active
volcanoes. It is an andesitic symmetrical stratovolcano that dominates the town
of Arequipa, only 16 km to the SW, and its proximity to Peru's second largest
city as well its history of explosive eruptions make it one of the world's most
dangerous volcanoes.
Similar to Vesuvius in Italy, the present-day El Misti was
built within a small 1.5 x 2 km wide summit caldera that formed between about
13,700 and 11,300 years ago. It has 2 concentric summit craters. The outer
crater measures 830 m in diameter and contains a 450 m wide scoria cone with the
inner crater on its top.
There were several large explosive eruptions in the
past few 1000 years, and more than 20 subplinian to plinian eruptions within the
past 50,000 years, that caused heavy tephra fall and pyroclastic flows traveling
up to 12 km.
All historic eruptions had been small explosive events from
the summit cone that only affected the upper areas of the volcano, covering it
with ash and scoria, and an ash fall field that extends up to 20 km.
Ubinas
Ubinas is Peru's most active volcano. A small, 1.4-km-wide caldera cuts the top
of the volcano. The steep-walled, 150-m-deep summit caldera contains an ash cone
with a 500-m-wide and 200 m deep crater Debris-avalanche deposits from the
collapse of the SE flank of Ubinas about 3700 years ago extend 10 km from the
volcano.
Widespread plinian pumice-fall deposits from Ubinas include one of
Holocene age about 1000 years ago. Holocene lava flows are visible on the
volcano's flanks, but historical activity, documented since the 16th century,
has consisted of intermittent minor-to-moderate explosive eruptions.
Huaynaputina
Huaynaputina volcano (its name meaning "new volcano") is a small volcano located
in southern Peru 26 km south of Ubinas volcano. It was the site of the largest
historical eruption in South America, which occurred in 1600 and erupted an
estimated 30 cubic km of dacitic tephra, including ash fall and pyroclastic flow
deposits. Its size can be compared to the 1883 Krakatau eruption. Prior to
the 1600 eruption, it had not even been known as a volcano and was described as
a "low ridge in the center of a Sierra".
Huaynaputina volcano does not form a prominent topographic
elevation. It is located inside a 2.5 km wide older caldera that was deepened by
glacial erosion. The volcano consists of 3 overlapping cinder cones containing
up to 100 m deep craters. These cones formed during the 1600 AD eruption. The
flanks of the older edifice are deeply covered by ash deposits from the same
eruption.
Ticsani
Ticsani is a complex of 3 dacitic lava domes in southern Peru in the Ichuna
district across the Río Tambo about 30 km SE of Huaynaputina volcano. The
volcano has a youthful appearance and is not covered by glaciers.
There are no historical eruptions known from Ticsani, a pumice layer from the crater that
contains the youngest lava dome overlies the ash from the 1600 AD Huaynaputina
eruption and therefore must be younger. At present, there is fumarolic activity.
Both Ticsani and Huaynaputina volcanoes lie about 50 km
behind the main volcanic arc of the Peruvian Andes. A young lava field is
found at the NW base of the volcano. A major debris avalanche produced by
tectonic collapse entered and partially filled the Río Tambor valley to the south.
Tutupaca
Tutupaca volcano in southern Perú consists of 2 main volcanic edifices. It has
been active in the past 10,000 years, producing lava flows from vents on the
saddle between the northern and southern parts.
Historical eruptions are uncertain and the ones listed for the past centuries may have been from Yucamane volcano instead.
Solfataric activity occurs at the volcano.
Tutupaca volcano consists of 2 dissected volcanic edifices,
of which the southern seems to be younger. Collapse of the northern edifice
produced a debris avalanche that traveled 7 km to the north.
Yucamane
Yucamane is an active andesitic stratovolcano in southern Perú at the southern
end of a group of 3 volcanoes (including Tutupaca and Cerro Caliente volcanoes
to the north).
Eruptions at the volcano have produced lava flows, airfall
deposits, pyroclastic flows and surges (mainly block-and-ash flows produced by
lava dome collapse).
Yucamane volcano has a young and well-preserved summit
crater and has probably erupted many times during the past 10,000 years,
although may reports from eruptions in the area are unclear as to which volcano
erupted. The most recent larger explosive (plinian) eruption occurred about
3300 radiocarbon years ago.
Nevados Casiri
Nevados Casiri (also known as Paugarani) volcano in southern Peru near the
Chilean border in a sparsely populated and remote part of the cordillera, about
25 km north of Tacora volcano. The youngest crater has been active during
the past 10,000 years and is well preserved.
Sulphur is being extracted from
2 mines on the NW and SE flanks of the volcano. Nevados Casiri consists of 4 cones forming a E-W aligned
ridge with the youngest cone on the SE side. 2 post-glacial lava flows are present south of the youngest cone, and an older lava dome to the west.
Quimsachata (Kimsachata) is the northernmost active volcano in Peru and located
at the foot of the Cordillera Oriental in an isolated area far east of the main
volcanic front.
It consists a group of 2 vents: Quimsachata, an older
andesitic cinder cone surrounded by a lava shield, which erupted ca. 11,500
years ago, and a younger rhyolitic lava dome, Oroscocha, that erupted ca. 6400
years ago and produced a short, thick lava flow.
Cerro Auquihuato
Cerro Auquihuato volcano is a young, 380 m high cinder cone in southern
Perú, located about 30 km NE of Sara Sa'ra volcano.
Satellite images show a young lava flow with
prominent channel structures. The flow extends 9 km south of the volcano.
Sara Sa'ra
Sara Sa'ra volcano is a glacier-covered stratovolcano in SW Perú, located
between Laguna Parinacocha and the Río Ocona. It is the westernmost of Peru's
active volcanoes.
the volcano has erupted large andesitic lava flows that
extended 10 km eastward into the Río Ocona valle. Relatively undisturbed tephra
and lava flow deposits on the upper slope of the volcano suggest that the last
activity of volcano was (geologically) recent, and probably less than 10,000
years ago.
Andahua-Orcopampa
The Andahua-Orcopampa volcanic field is a 50 km x 30 km large field of
monogenetic vents in the Andahua valley area, 20 km ENE of Nevados de Coropuna
stratovolcano. It is known locally as the "Valley of the Volcanoes". The
field contains scoria cones and lava flows, some of which are very young and
from historic eruptions.
Strombolian eruptions and lava flows have destroyed
buildings from the time of the Incas, and there were uncertain reports of
activity in 1913. Lava flows have repeatedly dammed the Río Andagua valley
modified the local topography.
The Andahua–Orcopampa volcanic field contains more than 40
cones, up to 300 m high and 500-650 m across. It lies in a series of deep
NNW-SSE-trending, on echelon valleys: Orcopampa, Andahua and Ayo. It belongs
to the magmatic arc of the Western Cordillera, which produces andesitic to
dacitic volcanoes built on 60–80 km thick continental crust and is located about
120–130 km above the Wadati–Benioff zone.
Nevado Coropuna
Nevado Coropuna volcano in southern Peru is the largest and highest active
volcano in Peru. It rises majestically 4500 m from the surrounding terrain and
forms an 10x20 km E-W elongated complex. The massive ice-covered complex has at least 6 summit cones. The flanks of the volcano are characterized by deep canyons.
There have been no recorded eruptions and the age of the last
eruption is unknown, but there is solfataric activity suggesting that the
volcano might still be active.
Sabancaya
Sabancaya volcano (its name meaning "tongue of fire" in Quechua Indian
language) is located in the southern Peruvian Andes and one of Peru's most
active volcanoes.
The stratovolcano is covered with several glaciers and
located in the saddle between the older stratovolcanoes Ampato (6288 m) and
Hualca Hua'lca (6025 m) and the only one of the group that has erupted in
historic times.
Sabancaya belongs to one of South America's volcanoes with
the oldest recorded history of eruptions. Historic records of eruptions from
Sabancaya date back to 1750, but its name already appears in written accounts
from 1595 AD, suggesting that it had been active around or before that date as
well.
Both Nevado Ampato and Nevado Sabancaya show only little
erosion due to glacial cover, suggesting that much of their summit edifices are
geologically young.
Activity within the past 10,000 years consisted of
explosive plinian eruptions followed by effusive eruptions of voluminous
andesitic and dacitic lava flows. These flows surround the volcano on all sides
except the north flank.
Huambo
Huambo is a monogenetic volcanic field in southern Peru, SSE of the
Andahua-Orcocampo volcanic field and west of Sabancaya volcano.
The Huambo field is divided into 2 segments. The southern part contains several cinder
cones and associated lava flows, some of which might be less than 10,000 years
old, judging from their fresh morphology.
The northern part of the field
consists of a single vent, the Cerro Keyocc cinder cone, which produced an
extensive lava field that covered the plateau to the west during an eruption at
about 2650 years ago.
Nevado Chachani
Nevado Chachani is a large stratovolcano in southern Peru, 25 km from Arequipa,
Peru's 2nd largest city. The volcano is covered by permanent ice and snow.
Nevado Chachani volcano forms a 320 sq. km complex of lava
domes, a central stratovolcano and a flank shield volcano, suggesting a
migration of vents from N towards SW:
1) Cerro Nocarane and Cerro Penones are
2 lava domes on the north flank. These domes are older than the last ice
age.
2) The Nevados de Chachani stratovolcano itself, probably still
active.
3) The 8 km diameter lava shield Pampa de Palacio (Las Cortaderas) on
the south flank. The most recent eruptions of the volcano occurred here, forming
a thick lava field.
Cerro Nicholson
Cerro Nicholson volcano is a small isolated andesitic scoria cone in Southern
Peru. It is located on a plain WSW of Chachani volcano and WNW of El Misti
volcano.
The crater of the Cerro Nicholson cone has a youthful appearance
and is full of fresh-looking volcanic bombs, suggesting a relatively young age.
It is similar to the Andahua scoria cones farther to the north.
Cerro Nicholson overlies a thick layer of a
1.65-million-year-old ignimbrite deposit (the Arequipa Airport Ignimbrite),
which was erupted from an ancient and buried vent beneath the Chachani volcano.
El Misti
The majestic El Misti volcano is Peru's most known and one of its most active
volcanoes. It is an andesitic symmetrical stratovolcano that dominates the town
of Arequipa, only 16 km to the SW, and its proximity to Peru's second largest
city as well its history of explosive eruptions make it one of the world's most
dangerous volcanoes.
Similar to Vesuvius in Italy, the present-day El Misti was
built within a small 1.5 x 2 km wide summit caldera that formed between about
13,700 and 11,300 years ago. It has 2 concentric summit craters. The outer
crater measures 830 m in diameter and contains a 450 m wide scoria cone with the
inner crater on its top.
There were several large explosive eruptions in the
past few 1000 years, and more than 20 subplinian to plinian eruptions within the
past 50,000 years, that caused heavy tephra fall and pyroclastic flows traveling
up to 12 km.
All historic eruptions had been small explosive events from
the summit cone that only affected the upper areas of the volcano, covering it
with ash and scoria, and an ash fall field that extends up to 20 km.
Ubinas
Ubinas is Peru's most active volcano. A small, 1.4-km-wide caldera cuts the top
of the volcano. The steep-walled, 150-m-deep summit caldera contains an ash cone
with a 500-m-wide and 200 m deep crater Debris-avalanche deposits from the
collapse of the SE flank of Ubinas about 3700 years ago extend 10 km from the
volcano.
Widespread plinian pumice-fall deposits from Ubinas include one of
Holocene age about 1000 years ago. Holocene lava flows are visible on the
volcano's flanks, but historical activity, documented since the 16th century,
has consisted of intermittent minor-to-moderate explosive eruptions.
Huaynaputina
Huaynaputina volcano (its name meaning "new volcano") is a small volcano located
in southern Peru 26 km south of Ubinas volcano. It was the site of the largest
historical eruption in South America, which occurred in 1600 and erupted an
estimated 30 cubic km of dacitic tephra, including ash fall and pyroclastic flow
deposits. Its size can be compared to the 1883 Krakatau eruption. Prior to
the 1600 eruption, it had not even been known as a volcano and was described as
a "low ridge in the center of a Sierra".
Huaynaputina volcano does not form a prominent topographic
elevation. It is located inside a 2.5 km wide older caldera that was deepened by
glacial erosion. The volcano consists of 3 overlapping cinder cones containing
up to 100 m deep craters. These cones formed during the 1600 AD eruption. The
flanks of the older edifice are deeply covered by ash deposits from the same
eruption.
Ticsani
Ticsani is a complex of 3 dacitic lava domes in southern Peru in the Ichuna
district across the Río Tambo about 30 km SE of Huaynaputina volcano. The
volcano has a youthful appearance and is not covered by glaciers.
There are no historical eruptions known from Ticsani, a pumice layer from the crater that
contains the youngest lava dome overlies the ash from the 1600 AD Huaynaputina
eruption and therefore must be younger. At present, there is fumarolic activity.
Both Ticsani and Huaynaputina volcanoes lie about 50 km
behind the main volcanic arc of the Peruvian Andes. A young lava field is
found at the NW base of the volcano. A major debris avalanche produced by
tectonic collapse entered and partially filled the Río Tambor valley to the south.
Tutupaca
Tutupaca volcano in southern Perú consists of 2 main volcanic edifices. It has
been active in the past 10,000 years, producing lava flows from vents on the
saddle between the northern and southern parts.
Historical eruptions are uncertain and the ones listed for the past centuries may have been from Yucamane volcano instead.
Solfataric activity occurs at the volcano.
Tutupaca volcano consists of 2 dissected volcanic edifices,
of which the southern seems to be younger. Collapse of the northern edifice
produced a debris avalanche that traveled 7 km to the north.
Yucamane
Yucamane is an active andesitic stratovolcano in southern Perú at the southern
end of a group of 3 volcanoes (including Tutupaca and Cerro Caliente volcanoes
to the north).
Eruptions at the volcano have produced lava flows, airfall
deposits, pyroclastic flows and surges (mainly block-and-ash flows produced by
lava dome collapse).
Yucamane volcano has a young and well-preserved summit
crater and has probably erupted many times during the past 10,000 years,
although may reports from eruptions in the area are unclear as to which volcano
erupted. The most recent larger explosive (plinian) eruption occurred about
3300 radiocarbon years ago.
Nevados Casiri
Nevados Casiri (also known as Paugarani) volcano in southern Peru near the
Chilean border in a sparsely populated and remote part of the cordillera, about
25 km north of Tacora volcano. The youngest crater has been active during
the past 10,000 years and is well preserved.
Sulphur is being extracted from
2 mines on the NW and SE flanks of the volcano. Nevados Casiri consists of 4 cones forming a E-W aligned
ridge with the youngest cone on the SE side. 2 post-glacial lava flows are present south of the youngest cone, and an older lava dome to the west.