| Licancabur | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 5,916 m (19,409 ft) |
| Parent peak | Sairecabur |
| Isolation | 12.6 km (7.8 mi) to Sairecabur[a] |
| Coordinates | 22°50′2″S 67°53′1″W / 22.83389°S 67.88361°W |
| Geography | |
  Licancabur Location of Licancabur | |
| Location | Chile / Bolivia |
| Parent range | Andes |
| Geology | |
| Rock age | Holocene |
| Mountain type | Stratovolcano |
| Last eruption | Unknown |
| Climbing | |
| First ascent | Inca, pre-Columbian |
| Easiest route | Hike |
Licancabur (Spanish pronunciation: [likaŋkaˈβuɾ]) is a stratovolcano on the border between Bolivia and Chile, south of the Sairecabur volcano and west of Juriques. Part of the Andean Central Volcanic Zone, it has a prominent, 5,916-metre (19,409 ft)-high cone. A 400–500-metre (1,300–1,600 ft) summit crater containing Licancabur Lake, a crater lake which is among the highest lakes in the world, caps the volcano. There are no glaciers owing to the arid climate. Numerous animal species and plants live on the mountain.
Licancabur formed atop of Pleistocene ignimbrites and has been active during the Holocene, after the ice ages. Three stages of lava flows emanate from the edifice and have a young appearance. Although no historic eruptions of the volcano are known, lava flows extending into Laguna Verde have been dated to 13,240 ± 100 BP and there may be residual heat in the mountain. The volcano has primarily erupted andesite, with small amounts of dacite and basaltic andesite.
Several archaeological sites occur on the mountain, both on its summit and at its northeastern foot. They were built presumably by the Inca or Atacama people for religious and cultural ceremonies, and are among the most important in the region. The mountain is the subject of a number of myths, which view it as the husband of another mountain, the hiding place of Inca or the burial of an Inca king.
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