Sabancaya (Peru)

Status Eruption Eruption 2019 5960m
Stratovolcano(es) (Subduction zone / Continental crust (> 25 km))

Sabancaya, located in the saddle NE of Ampato and SE of Hualca Hualca volcanoes, is the youngest of these volcanic centers and the only one to have erupted in historical time. The oldest of the three, Nevado Hualca Hualca, is of probable late-Pliocene to early Pleistocene age. The name Sabancaya (meaning "tongue of fire" in the Quechua language) first appeared in records in 1595 CE, suggesting activity prior to that date. Holocene activity has consisted of Plinian eruptions followed by emission of voluminous andesitic and dacitic lava flows, which form an extensive apron around the volcano on all sides but the south. Records of historical eruptions date back to 1750.

The Sabancaya volcanic complex consists of Sabancaya volcano proper (foreground), the older 6288-m-high Ampato volcano (background), and 6025-m Hualca Hualca volcano. Sabancaya, viewed here from the NE, is constructed on the saddle between the two older volcanoes. It is the youngest of the three Holocene volcanic centers and the only one to have erupted in historical time. An extensive 15-km-wide apron of trachytic and dacitic lava flows surrounds the 5967-m-high volcano. Records of historical eruptions date back to 1750.

Photo by Norm Banks, 1988 (U.S. Geological Survey).

Last updated 2023-11-29 22:04:58