Uturuncu | |
---|---|
![]() Uturuncu seen from the northwest | |
Highest point | |
Elevation | 6,008 metres (19,711 ft) |
Parent peak | Acamarachi |
Listing | List of mountains in Bolivia |
Coordinates | 22°16′12″S 67°10′48″W / 22.27000°S 67.18000°W[1] |
Naming | |
English translation | Jaguar |
Language of name | Quechua |
Geography | |
Location | San Pablo de Lípez Municipality, Sur Lípez Province, Potosí Department, Bolivia |
Parent range | Cordillera de Lípez |
Geology | |
Age of rock | Pleistocene |
Mountain type | Stratovolcano |
Volcanic field | Altiplano–Puna volcanic complex |
Last eruption | 250,000 years ago. |
Climbing | |
First ascent | 1955 by Friedrich Adolf Ernest Ahlfeld |
Uturuncu is a dormant volcano in the Sur Lípez Province of Bolivia. It is 6,008 metres (19,711 ft) high, has two summit peaks, and consists of a complex of lava domes and lava flows with a total volume estimated to be 50–85 km3. It bears traces of a former glaciation, even though it does not currently carry glaciers. Volcanic activity took place during the Pleistocene epoch and the last eruption was 250,000 years ago; since then Uturuncu has not erupted but active fumaroles occur in the summit region, between the two summits.
The volcano rises within the Altiplano–Puna volcanic complex, a larger province of large volcanoes and calderas which over the last few million years (mya) have emplaced about 10000 km3 of ignimbrites[a] in sometimes very large eruptions. Underneath it lies the so-called Altiplano–Puna magmatic body, a large sill[b] formed by partially molten rocks.
Starting in 1992, satellite observations have indicated a large area of regional uplift centered on Uturuncu, which has been interpreted as an indication of large-scale magma intrusion under the volcano. This might be a prelude to large-scale volcanic activity, including "supervolcanic" activity and caldera formation.
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