Llaima

Llaima

The snowy cone of Llaima volcano
Highest point
Elevation 3,125 m (10,253 ft)[1]
Prominence 1,819 m (5,968 ft)[1]
Listing Region high point
Ultra
Coordinates 38°41′45″S 71°43′54″W / 38.69583°S 71.73167°W / -38.69583; -71.73167Coordinates: 38°41′45″S 71°43′54″W / 38.69583°S 71.73167°W / -38.69583; -71.73167[1]
Geography
Llaima

Location in Chile

Location Melipeuco and Vilcún, Cautín Province, La Araucanía Region, Chile
Parent range Andes
Geology
Mountain type Stratovolcano
Last eruption 2008 to 2009
Some Chilean Volcanoes

The Llaima Volcano is one of the largest and most active volcanoes in Chile. It is situated 82 km northeast of Temuco and 663 km southeast of Santiago, within the borders of Conguillío National Park.

Geography

The top of Llaima consists of two summits; the lower of the two, Pichillaima, is about 2,920 m (9,580 ft) high and is significantly less prominent than the higher northern summit.[2]

The average elevation of the terrain around Llaima is about 740 m asl.[2]

The volcano, along with Sierra Nevada, surrounds the Conguillío Lake. Its slopes are drained by the rivers Captrén, Quepe and Trufultruful.[2] The former ones are tributaries of Cautín River and the latter is affluent of Allipén River.

Eruptions

Llaima is one of Chile's most active volcanoes and has frequent but moderate eruptions. Llaima’s activity has been documented since the 17th century, and consists of several separate episodes of moderate explosive eruptions with occasional lava flows. The last major eruption occurred in 1994.[3]

An eruption on January 1, 2008 forced the evacuation of hundreds of people from nearby villages. A column of smoke approximately 3000 m high was observed. An amateur caught the early eruption phase on video.[4] The volcanic ash expelled by Llaima travelled east over the Andes into Argentina. Ash fall was recorded in the area of Zapala, Neuquén Province, and forced the cancellation of flights to and from Presidente Perón Airport near the city of Neuquén.[5] On July 2, 2008, another eruption resulted in evacuation of 40 people from a 15 km exclusion zone.[6]

An eruption occurred on April 5, 2009, with pyroclastic flows, ash and lava seen on the slopes.

Recreation

The ski center Las Araucarias lies on the volcano's western slopes.

Gallery

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Argentina and Chile, Central Ultra Prominences". Peaklist.org. Retrieved 2013-07-16.
  2. 1 2 3 (Spanish) Sernageomin. "Volcán Llaima". Archived from the original on 2007-04-29. Retrieved 2007-08-30.
  3. "Chile volcano forces evacuations". BBC. January 2, 2008.
  4. Volcan LLAIMA on YouTube
  5. "Cancelan vuelos en el aeropuerto de Neuquén por la erupción en Chile del volcán Llaima". Clarín. January 2, 2008.
  6. "Chile ski station evacuated as volcano erupts". Yahoo!News. July 2, 2008.

There is a video of the eruption on BBC.co.uk

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Llaima.
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