Azufre, Cerro del (Chile)

Status Unknown Eruption Unknown 5846m
Stratovolcano (Subduction zone / Continental crust (> 25 km))

Cerro del Azufre is the largest and youngest volcanic center of a 50-km-long, NW-SE-trending chain of Chilean volcanoes just W of the Bolivian border, S of Salar de Ascotán. The northern summit forms the high point of the andesitic volcano; an older southern stratovolcano extends SE towards the Pleistocene Cerro Aguilucho volcano. A large group of late-Pleistocene lava flows originating from the northern cone extends toward the northern flanks and partially overlies a debris-avalanche deposit now largely buried by the Salar de Ascotán. The Chanka (Pabellón) dacitic lava-dome complex occupying the lower W flank is pristine-looking, but has been Potassium-Argon dated at 1.5 million years. Two possible Holocene dacitic lava domes that were erupted along a NW-SE line E of the summit ridge mark the most recent effusive activity, but two youthful-looking craters on the main edifice could be Holocene.

The large volcanic complex at the center of this NASA Space Shuttle image (with north to the upper right) is Cerro del Azufre. The 5846-m-high volcano lies just west of the Bolivian border, south of Salar de Ascotán (the light-colored area at the upper right). A youthful lava dome forms a small circular area below and to the right of the center of the image, and the Holocene San Pedro-San Pablo volcanic complex lies at the left-center.

NASA Space Station image ISS005-E-8788, 2002 (http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/).

Last updated 2019-08-04 00:28:03