Purico Complex
| Purico Complex | |
|---|---|
 The western part of the Purico Complex is formed by the Cerro Negro cinder cone and the Cerros de Macón stratovolcano. | |
| Elevation | 5,703 m (18,711 ft)[1] |
| Location | |
| Location | Chile |
| Coordinates | 23°00′S 67°45′W / 23.000°S 67.750°WCoordinates: 23°00′S 67°45′W / 23.000°S 67.750°W |
| Geology | |
| Type | Pyroclastic shield, volcanic complex |
| Age of rock | Holocene |
The Purico Complex is a pyroclastic shield consisting of two ignimbrite sheets that is located in the eastern part of the Atacama Desert in Chile's II Region (Antofagasta), approximately 5 km (3 mi) south of the Bolivia - Chile border. The volcanic complex is on top of a massive pyroclastic shield, covering an area of roughly 20 km (12 mi) x 30 km (19 mi) and is conformed by ten subsidiaries, including two stratovolcanoes, five lava domes, one cinder cone, and one maar. The highest of its multiple peaks is 5,703 metres (18,711 ft). Juriques to the north and Guayaques to the east are separate volcanic systems.
The two ignimbrite sheets making up the complex and shield erupted about 1.3 million years ago, along with several stratovolcanoes and lava domes that define a postulated 10 x 20 km ring fracture. Cerro Toco overlies the vent area of the Cajón Ignimbrite and a sulfur mine on Cerro Toco's southeast flank was mined until the early 1990s. Cerro Chascón de Purico and Cerro Aspero are of Holocene age. Both lava domes differ morphologically from many other flat-topped silicic Andean volcanic domes and have 300-400 metre-high conical profiles. Cerro Chascón was formed by a series of viscous lava flows while Cerro Aspero appears to be a single Peléan-type dome. The Chascón de Purico dacitic lava dome rising 1,200 metres above the shield has a well-preserved summit crater and lava flows that do not show evidence of glacial modification. The dacitic-to-andesitic Cerros de Macón stratovolcano lies at the southern end of the Purico Complex, and the Alitar maar at the southeast end displays constant solfataric activity.
The Chajnantor Science Reserve (Spanish: Reserva Científica de Chajnantor) contains most of the Purico Complex, and is home to the Llano de Chajnantor Observatory and other astronomical facilities.[2]
Subsidiary features
- Stratovolcanoes
- Cerros de Macon – 5,130 m (16,831 ft),[1] 23°02′53″S 67°49′26″W / 23.048°S 67.824°W
- Cerro Toco – 5,604 m (18,386 ft),[1] 22°56′24″S 67°46′52″W / 22.940°S 67.781°W
- Cinder cones
- Cerro Negro – 5,016 m (16,457 ft),[1] 23°01′08″S 67°51′04″W / 23.019°S 67.851°W
- Maars
- Alitar - 5,346 m (17,539 ft),[1] 23°08′06″S 67°38′35″W / 23.135°S 67.643°W
- Lava domes
- Cerro Agua Amarga - 5,058 m (16,594 ft),[1] 23°01′05″S 67°42′54″W / 23.018°S 67.715°W
- Cerro Áspero – 5,262 m (17,264 ft),[1] 23°05′24″S 67°42′22″W / 23.090°S 67.706°W
- Cerro Chajnantor (Cerro Cerillo) - 5,639 m (18,501 ft),[1] 22°59′02″S 67°44′31″W / 22.984°S 67.742°W
- Cerro El Chascón (Chascón de Purico) - 5,703 m (18,711 ft),[1] 23°00′36″S 67°41′06″W / 23.010°S 67.685°W
- Cerro Purico - 5,375 m (17,635 ft),[2] 23°04′12″S 67°45′40″W / 23.070°S 67.761°W
- Cerro Putas - 5,462 m (17,920 ft),[1] 23°06′29″S 67°42′47″W / 23.108°S 67.713°W
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 "Purico Complex". Global Volcanism Program. Smithsonian Institution.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Topographical Map of CONICYT Science Preserve". National Radio Astronomy Observatory. Retrieved 2012-01-26.
- González-Ferrán, Oscar (1995). Volcanes de Chile (in Spanish). Santiago: Instituto Geográfico Militar. ISBN 956-202-054-1.
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