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Report on Villarrica (Chile) — 22 October-28 October 2008


Villarrica

Smithsonian Institution / US Geological Survey
Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 22 October-28 October 2008
Managing Editor: Sally Sennert.

Please cite this report as:

Global Volcanism Program, 2008. Report on Villarrica (Chile) (Sennert, S, ed.). Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 22 October-28 October 2008. Smithsonian Institution and US Geological Survey.

Weekly Report (22 October-28 October 2008)

Villarrica

Chile

39.42°S, 71.93°W; summit elev. 2847 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


SERNAGEOMIN reported that on 26 October three gray plumes with little ash content were emitted from Villarrica and rose to an altitude of 3.2 km (10,500 ft) a.s.l. The plumes quickly dispersed to the E. About 20 minutes later a darker gray plume rose to an altitude of 3.3 km (10,800 ft) a.s.l. Projecto Observación Visual Volcán Villarrica (POVI) reported that the latter plume deposited a thin layer of tephra several kilometers in length on the E flank.

Geological Summary. The glacier-covered Villarrica stratovolcano, in the northern Lakes District of central Chile, is ~15 km south of the city of Pucon. A 2-km-wide caldera that formed about 3,500 years ago is located at the base of the presently active, dominantly basaltic to basaltic-andesite cone at the NW margin of a 6-km-wide Pleistocene caldera. More than 30 scoria cones and fissure vents are present on the flanks. Plinian eruptions and pyroclastic flows that have extended up to 20 km from the volcano were produced during the Holocene. Lava flows up to 18 km long have issued from summit and flank vents. Eruptions documented since 1558 CE have consisted largely of mild-to-moderate explosive activity with occasional lava effusion. Glaciers cover 40 km2 of the volcano, and lahars have damaged towns on its flanks.

Sources: Proyecto Observación Villarrica Internet (POVI), Servicio Nacional de Geología y Minería (SERNAGEOMIN)