Global Volcanism Program

The Global Volcanism Program has no activity reports for Socompa.

The Global Volcanism Program has no Weekly Reports available for Socompa.

The Global Volcanism Program has no Bulletin Reports available for Socompa.

The Global Volcanism Program has no synonyms or subfeatures listed for Socompa.

Basic Data

Volcano Number

Last Known Eruption

Elevation

Latitude
Longitude

355109

5250 BCE

6031 m / 19787 ft

24.396°S
68.246°W

Volcano Morphology

Primary Landform
Composite

Volcano Types
Stratovolcano
Lava dome(s)

Rock Types

Major
Dacite
Andesite / Basaltic Andesite

Tectonic Setting

Subduction zone
Continental crust (> 25 km)

Population

Within 5 km
Within 10 km
Within 30 km
Within 100 km

5
113
538
8,620

Geological Summary

Straddling the Chile-Argentina border, Volcán Socompa is a massive dacitic stratovolcano that lies immediately north of the only railway line between the two countries. It is the youngest and southernmost of a NE-SW-trending chain of volcanoes including Pular and Pajonales. In contrast to the latter two volcanoes, no glacial moraines have been observed on the relatively uneroded Socompa. Collapse of the NW portion of the volcano about 7200 years ago produced a 600 km² debris-avalanche deposit that extends about 40 km from the summit and is one of the world's largest and best exposed. Undated post-collapse eruptions constructed dacitic lava domes that have filled much of the head of the collapse scarp. No historical eruptions are known.

References

The following references have all been used during the compilation of data for this volcano, it is not a comprehensive bibliography.

de Silva S L, Francis P W, 1991. Volcanoes of the Central Andes. Berlin: Springer-Verlag, 216 p.

Francis P W, Gardeweg M, Ramirez C F, Rothery D A, 1985. Catastrophic debris avalanche deposit of Socompa volcano, northern Chile. Geology, 13: 600-603.

Francis P W, Wells G L, 1988. Landsat thematic mapper observations of debris avalanche deposits in the central Andes. Bull Volcanol, 50: 258-278.

Gonzalez-Ferran O, 1995. Volcanes de Chile. Santiago: Instituto Geografico Militar, 635 p.

IAVCEI, 1973-80. Post-Miocene Volcanoes of the World. IAVCEI Data Sheets, Rome: Internatl Assoc Volc Chemistry Earth's Interior.

Kelfoun K, Druitt T, van Wyk de Vries B, Guilbaud M-N, 2008. Topographic reflection of the Socompa debris avalanche, Chile. Bull Volcanol, 70: 1169-1187.

van Wyk de Vries B, Self S, Francis P W, Keszthelyi L, 2001. A gravitational spreading model for the Socompa debris avalanche. J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res., 105: 225-247.

von Wolff F, 1929. Der Volcanismus II Band: Spezieller Teil 1 Teil Die Neue Welt (Pazifische Erdhalfte) der Pazifische Ozean und Seine Randgebiete. Stuttgart: Ferdinand Enke, 828 p.

Wadge G, Francis P W, Ramirez C F, 1995. The Socompa collapse and avalanche event. J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res., 66: 309-336. https://doi.org/10.1016/0377-0273(94)00083-S

Eruptive History

There is data available for 1 confirmed Holocene eruptive periods.

5250 BCE (?) Confirmed Eruption

Episode 1 | Eruption Episode

5250 BCE (?) - Unknown

Evidence from Isotopic: 14C (uncalibrated)

List of 5 Events for Episode 1

Start Date	End Date	Event Type	Event Remarks
- - - -	- - - -	Explosion
- - - -	- - - -	Directed Explosion
- - - -	- - - -	Pyroclastic flow
- - - -	- - - -	Avalanche
- - - -	- - - -	Edifice Destroyed	Collapse/avalanche

Deformation History

There is no Deformation History data available for Socompa.

Emission History

There is no Emissions History data available for Socompa.

Photo Gallery

Volcán Socompa is a massive, 6051-m-high dacitic stratovolcano noted for an eruption about 7200 years ago, similar to that at Mount St. Helens in 1980. The Socompa eruption produced a massive 600 km² debris-avalanche deposit, much larger than at St. Helens, that extends about 40 km from the summit. This view from the north shows dark-colored post-collapse lava domes on the right side that have filled much of the head of the massive collapse scarp, which extends to the base of the volcano at the lower right.

Photo by Carlos Felipe Ramírez (courtesy of Oscar González-Ferrán, University of Chile).

This dramatic NASA International Space Station image (with north to the upper right) is of Socompa volcano. A large horseshoe-shaped caldera breached to the NW was the source of a major debris avalanche about 7,000 years ago that extended beyond the upper left margin of the image. Young dacitic lava domes and flows partially fill the collapse amphitheater, and prominent lava flows with flow levees are visible on the outer flanks.

NASA International Space Station image ISS003-E-5375, 2001 (http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/).

GVP Map Holdings

Maps are not currently available due to technical issues.

The maps shown below have been scanned from the GVP map archives and include the volcano on this page. Clicking on the small images will load the full 300 dpi map. Very small-scale maps (such as world maps) are not included.

Smithsonian Sample Collections Database

There are no samples for Socompa in the Smithsonian's NMNH Department of Mineral Sciences Rock and Ore collection.

External Sites

Copernicus Browser

The Copernicus Browser replaced the Sentinel Hub Playground browser in 2023, to provide access to Earth observation archives from the Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem, the main distribution platform for data from the EU Copernicus missions.

MIROVA

Middle InfraRed Observation of Volcanic Activity (MIROVA) is a near real time volcanic hot-spot detection system based on the analysis of MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) data. In particular, MIROVA uses the Middle InfraRed Radiation (MIR), measured over target volcanoes, in order to detect, locate and measure the heat radiation sourced from volcanic activity.

MODVOLC Thermal Alerts

Using infrared satellite Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data, scientists at the Hawai'i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, University of Hawai'i, developed an automated system called MODVOLC to map thermal hot-spots in near real time. For each MODIS image, the algorithm automatically scans each 1 km pixel within it to check for high-temperature hot-spots. When one is found the date, time, location, and intensity are recorded. MODIS looks at every square km of the Earth every 48 hours, once during the day and once during the night, and the presence of two MODIS sensors in space allows at least four hot-spot observations every two days. Each day updated global maps are compiled to display the locations of all hot spots detected in the previous 24 hours. There is a drop-down list with volcano names which allow users to 'zoom-in' and examine the distribution of hot-spots at a variety of spatial scales.

WOVOdat
   Single Volcano View
   Temporal Evolution of Unrest
   Side by Side Volcanoes

WOVOdat is a database of volcanic unrest; instrumentally and visually recorded changes in seismicity, ground deformation, gas emission, and other parameters from their normal baselines. It is sponsored by the World Organization of Volcano Observatories (WOVO) and presently hosted at the Earth Observatory of Singapore.

GVMID Data on Volcano Monitoring Infrastructure The Global Volcano Monitoring Infrastructure Database GVMID, is aimed at documenting and improving capabilities of volcano monitoring from the ground and space. GVMID should provide a snapshot and baseline view of the techniques and instrumentation that are in place at various volcanoes, which can be use by volcano observatories as reference to setup new monitoring system or improving networks at a specific volcano. These data will allow identification of what monitoring gaps exist, which can be then targeted by remote sensing infrastructure and future instrument deployments.

Volcanic Hazard Maps

The IAVCEI Commission on Volcanic Hazards and Risk has a Volcanic Hazard Maps database designed to serve as a resource for hazard mappers (or other interested parties) to explore how common issues in hazard map development have been addressed at different volcanoes, in different countries, for different hazards, and for different intended audiences. In addition to the comprehensive, searchable Volcanic Hazard Maps Database, this website contains information about diversity of volcanic hazard maps, illustrated using examples from the database. This site is for educational purposes related to volcanic hazard maps. Hazard maps found on this website should not be used for emergency purposes. For the most recent, official hazard map for a particular volcano, please seek out the proper institutional authorities on the matter.

IRIS seismic stations/networks

Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS) Data Services map showing the location of seismic stations from all available networks (permanent or temporary) within a radius of 0.18° (about 20 km at mid-latitudes) from the given location of Socompa. Users can customize a variety of filters and options in the left panel. Note that if there are no stations are known the map will default to show the entire world with a "No data matched request" error notice.

UNAVCO GPS/GNSS stations

Geodetic Data Services map from UNAVCO showing the location of GPS/GNSS stations from all available networks (permanent or temporary) within a radius of 20 km from the given location of Socompa. Users can customize the data search based on station or network names, location, and time window. Requires Adobe Flash Player.

DECADE Data

The DECADE portal, still in the developmental stage, serves as an example of the proposed interoperability between The Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanism Program, the Mapping Gas Emissions (MaGa) Database, and the EarthChem Geochemical Portal. The Deep Earth Carbon Degassing (DECADE) initiative seeks to use new and established technologies to determine accurate global fluxes of volcanic CO₂ to the atmosphere, but installing CO₂ monitoring networks on 20 of the world's 150 most actively degassing volcanoes. The group uses related laboratory-based studies (direct gas sampling and analysis, melt inclusions) to provide new data for direct degassing of deep earth carbon to the atmosphere.

Large Eruptions of Socompa

Information about large Quaternary eruptions (VEI >= 4) is cataloged in the Large Magnitude Explosive Volcanic Eruptions (LaMEVE) database of the Volcano Global Risk Identification and Analysis Project (VOGRIPA).

EarthChem

EarthChem develops and maintains databases, software, and services that support the preservation, discovery, access and analysis of geochemical data, and facilitate their integration with the broad array of other available earth science parameters. EarthChem is operated by a joint team of disciplinary scientists, data scientists, data managers and information technology developers who are part of the NSF-funded data facility Integrated Earth Data Applications (IEDA). IEDA is a collaborative effort of EarthChem and the Marine Geoscience Data System (MGDS).