Antofalla

Antofalla
Antofalla at sunset from the north
Highest point
Elevation	6,409 m (21,027 ft)[1]
Coordinates	25°33′S 67°53′W / 25.550°S 67.883°W / -25.550; -67.883[1]
Geography
Antofalla Argentina
Location	Catamarca, Argentina
Parent range	Andes
Geology
Mountain type	Stratovolcano
Last eruption	Unknown
Climbing
First ascent	Inca, Pre-Columbian (before 1500)

Antofalla is a Miocene-Pliocene volcano in Argentina's Catamarca Province. It is part of the volcanic segment of the Andes in Argentina, and it is considered to be part of the Central Volcanic Zone, one of the volcanic zones of the Andes. Antofalla forms a group of volcanoes that are aligned on and behind the main volcanic arc. Antofalla itself is a remote volcano.

Antofalla and other Andean volcanoes form because the Nazca Plate is subducting beneath the South American Plate. Antofalla volcano is located in a region with a "basins and ranges" topography, where during the Miocene ranges were uplifted and basins formed through tectonic movement. It sits on a basement formed by Eocene-Miocene sedimentary units over a much older crystalline basement.

Antofalla is formed by a principal volcano, the 6,409-metre (21,027 ft) high Antofalla volcano proper, and a surrounding complex of smaller volcanic systems that are formed by lava flows and pyroclastic material. The whole complex was active between 10.89 and 1.59 million years ago; whether activity occurred in historical time is unclear.