Cerro Miscanti

Cerro Miscanti
Seen from the Laguna Miscanti, FLTR: Volcán Chiliques, Cerro Miscanti, Cordón Puntas Negras.
Highest point
Elevation5,622 m (18,445 ft)[1]
Coordinates23°40′25″S 67°42′58″W / 23.67361°S 67.71611°W / -23.67361; -67.71611[2]
Geography
Map
LocationChile
Parent rangeAndes
Geology
Last eruptionPleistocene[3]

Cerro Miscanti (also known as Ipira[4]) is a mountain of volcanic origin located in the Antofagasta Region of Chile, immediately south of Chiliques and north of Miñiques. It towers over Laguna Miscanti. Rock samples from Cerro Miscanti are of andesitic composition,[5] but andesite-containing dacites have also been found.[6]

The edifice covers an area of 38 square kilometres (15 sq mi) and bears traces of a westward collapse, which exposed the internal sector of the volcano. A new volcano grew inside the collapse scar. Miscanti may be either extinct or may have erupted in the Pleistocene-Holocene. Renewed eruptions are likely to consist of lava flows, which could impact the northern shores of Laguna Miscanti.[7]

An Inka sanctuary has been reported from Cerro Miscanti.[8]

  1. ^ "Chilean IGM". Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2007-03-28.
  2. ^ "National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency". Archived from the original on 2012-05-04.
  3. ^ "Miscanti". Global Volcanism Program. Smithsonian Institution.
  4. ^ Riso Patrón, Luis (1924). Diccionario Jeográfico de Chile (PDF) (Report). Universitaria. p. 557. Retrieved 2021-10-07.
  5. ^ Harmon, R. S.; Hoefs, J. (1984). "Oxygen Isotope Ratios in Late Cenozoic Andean Volcanics". Andean Magmatism. p. 13. doi:10.1007/978-1-4684-7335-3_2. ISBN 978-1-4684-7337-7.
  6. ^ MATTHEWS, S. J.; JONES, A. P.; GARDEWEG, M. C. (1 April 1994). "Lascar Volcano, Northern Chile; Evidence for Steady-State Disequilibrium". Journal of Petrology. 35 (2): 429. doi:10.1093/petrology/35.2.401. ISSN 0022-3530. Archived from the original on 16 October 2019. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
  7. ^ Amigo, Álvaro R.; Bertin, Daniel U.; Orozco, Gabriel L. (2012). Peligros volcánicos de la Zona Norte de Chile (PDF) (Report). Carta geológica de Chile: Serie Geología Ambiental (in Spanish). Vol. 17. SERVICIO NACIONAL DE GEOLOGÍA Y MINERÍA. p. 19. ISSN 0717-7305. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 29, 2021. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  8. ^ "QHAPAQ ÑAN El Sistema Vial Andino y los Incas en el Norte de Chile" (PDF). Consejo de Monumentos Nacionales de Chile (in Spanish). p. 122. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 October 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2021.