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Uturuncu

Photo of this volcano
  • Bolivia
  • Stratovolcano
  • Pleistocene
  •  
  • Country
  • Primary Volcano Type
  • Last Known Eruption
  •  
  • 22.27°S
  • 67.18°W

  • 6008 m
    19711 ft

  • 355838
  • Latitude
  • Longitude

  • Summit
    Elevation

  • Volcano
    Number

Most Recent Bulletin Report: May 2003 (BGVN 28:05) Citation IconCite this Report

Deformation detected by satellite surveys; low-level seismicity and active fumaroles

A large-scale concentric pattern of deformation was detected between May 1996 and December 2000 centered on Uturuncu volcano, Bolivia (figure 1), based on satellite geodetic surveys (Pritchard and Simons, 2002). The observed deformation is primarily surface uplift with a maximum rate at the uplift center of 1-2 cm/year in the radar line-of-sight direction (figure 2). A reconnaissance investigation by a team composed of scientists from Bolivia, Chile, the USA, and the UK, took place during 1-6 April 2003 to identify any other signs of volcanic unrest and assess past volcanic behavior.

Figure (see Caption) Figure 1. Photograph of Uturuncu viewed from the south, April 2003. Courtesy of Steve Sparks.
Figure (see Caption) Figure 2. Shaded relief topographic map of the central Andes with insets showing areas of deformation detected by Pritchard and Simons (2002). Interferograms (draped over shaded relief) indicate active deformation; each color cycle corresponds to 5 cm of deformation in the radar line-of-sight (LOS). The LOS direction from ground to spacecraft (black arrow) is inclined 23° from the vertical. Black squares indicate radar frames, and black triangles show potential volcanic edifices. Courtesy of Matthew Pritchard.

A single-component vertical one-second seismometer was placed at five locations for periods of up to 14 hours. Data were recorded at a rate of 100 samples per second on a laptop computer. Persistent low-level seismicity was observed mainly from one source location on the NW flank, close to the center of deformation observed by satellite surveys. Two other sources within the volcanic edifice could not be located with the available data. The rate of volcanic earthquakes was up to 15 per hour, and the magnitudes were in the 0.5-1.5 range based on coda length. The sources were considered to be within 3-4 km of the surface (much shallower than the deformation source); more accurate information will be available when the data are analyzed further.

The summit region of Uturuncu has two active fumarole fields with substantial sulfur production and areas of clay-silica hydrothermal alteration. Maximum temperatures in four fumaroles were measured at 79-80°C. A hot spring on the NW flanks had a temperature of 20°C.

Uturuncu is a stratovolcano composed of hypersthene andesites, hypersthene-biotite dacites, and biotite-hornblende dacites. Almost all the exposed products are extensive coulée-type lavas and domes; no pyroclastic deposits were observed. Flow features are well-preserved on the youngest lavas. A wide variety of xenoliths were found in most lavas, including mafic magmatic inclusions, cumulates, microcrystalline igneous inclusions, and hornfels of possible basement rocks including sandstones and calcareous rock types.

Lavas around the summit area appear to be the most recent products, but have been affected by glaciation; there is however no present-day ice. There is thus no evidence yet for Holocene activity. The recent unrest manifested by substantial ground deformation and reconnaissance seismicity indicate, however, that a magmatic system is still present and therefore further monitoring is warranted.

Reference. Pritchard, M., and Simons, M., 2002, A satellite geodetic survey of large-scale deformation of volcanic centres in the Central Andes: Nature, v. 418, p. 167-170.

Information Contacts: Mayel Sunagua and Ruben Muranca, Geological Survey of Bolivia, SERGEOMIN, Casilla 2729, La Paz, Bolivia; Jorge Clavero, Geological Survey of Chile, Servicio Nacional de Geología y Minería (SERGEOMIN), Avenida Santa María 0104, Casilla 10465, Santiago, Chile; Steve McNutt, Alaska Volcano Observatory and Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 903 Koyukuk Drive, PO Box 757320, Fairbanks, AK 99775-7320, USA (URL: http://www.avo.alaska.edu/); Matthew Pritchard, Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA (URL: http://www.gps.caltech.edu/); C. Annen, M. Humphreys, A. le Friant, and R.S.J. Sparks, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1RJ, UK.

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

Bulletin Reports - Index

Reports are organized chronologically and indexed below by Month/Year (Publication Volume:Number), and include a one-line summary. Click on the index link or scroll down to read the reports.

05/2003 (BGVN 28:05) Deformation detected by satellite surveys; low-level seismicity and active fumaroles




Information is preliminary and subject to change. All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


May 2003 (BGVN 28:05) Citation IconCite this Report

Deformation detected by satellite surveys; low-level seismicity and active fumaroles

A large-scale concentric pattern of deformation was detected between May 1996 and December 2000 centered on Uturuncu volcano, Bolivia (figure 1), based on satellite geodetic surveys (Pritchard and Simons, 2002). The observed deformation is primarily surface uplift with a maximum rate at the uplift center of 1-2 cm/year in the radar line-of-sight direction (figure 2). A reconnaissance investigation by a team composed of scientists from Bolivia, Chile, the USA, and the UK, took place during 1-6 April 2003 to identify any other signs of volcanic unrest and assess past volcanic behavior.

Figure (see Caption) Figure 1. Photograph of Uturuncu viewed from the south, April 2003. Courtesy of Steve Sparks.
Figure (see Caption) Figure 2. Shaded relief topographic map of the central Andes with insets showing areas of deformation detected by Pritchard and Simons (2002). Interferograms (draped over shaded relief) indicate active deformation; each color cycle corresponds to 5 cm of deformation in the radar line-of-sight (LOS). The LOS direction from ground to spacecraft (black arrow) is inclined 23° from the vertical. Black squares indicate radar frames, and black triangles show potential volcanic edifices. Courtesy of Matthew Pritchard.

A single-component vertical one-second seismometer was placed at five locations for periods of up to 14 hours. Data were recorded at a rate of 100 samples per second on a laptop computer. Persistent low-level seismicity was observed mainly from one source location on the NW flank, close to the center of deformation observed by satellite surveys. Two other sources within the volcanic edifice could not be located with the available data. The rate of volcanic earthquakes was up to 15 per hour, and the magnitudes were in the 0.5-1.5 range based on coda length. The sources were considered to be within 3-4 km of the surface (much shallower than the deformation source); more accurate information will be available when the data are analyzed further.

The summit region of Uturuncu has two active fumarole fields with substantial sulfur production and areas of clay-silica hydrothermal alteration. Maximum temperatures in four fumaroles were measured at 79-80°C. A hot spring on the NW flanks had a temperature of 20°C.

Uturuncu is a stratovolcano composed of hypersthene andesites, hypersthene-biotite dacites, and biotite-hornblende dacites. Almost all the exposed products are extensive coulée-type lavas and domes; no pyroclastic deposits were observed. Flow features are well-preserved on the youngest lavas. A wide variety of xenoliths were found in most lavas, including mafic magmatic inclusions, cumulates, microcrystalline igneous inclusions, and hornfels of possible basement rocks including sandstones and calcareous rock types.

Lavas around the summit area appear to be the most recent products, but have been affected by glaciation; there is however no present-day ice. There is thus no evidence yet for Holocene activity. The recent unrest manifested by substantial ground deformation and reconnaissance seismicity indicate, however, that a magmatic system is still present and therefore further monitoring is warranted.

Reference. Pritchard, M., and Simons, M., 2002, A satellite geodetic survey of large-scale deformation of volcanic centres in the Central Andes: Nature, v. 418, p. 167-170.

Information Contacts: Mayel Sunagua and Ruben Muranca, Geological Survey of Bolivia, SERGEOMIN, Casilla 2729, La Paz, Bolivia; Jorge Clavero, Geological Survey of Chile, Servicio Nacional de Geología y Minería (SERGEOMIN), Avenida Santa María 0104, Casilla 10465, Santiago, Chile; Steve McNutt, Alaska Volcano Observatory and Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 903 Koyukuk Drive, PO Box 757320, Fairbanks, AK 99775-7320, USA (URL: http://www.avo.alaska.edu/); Matthew Pritchard, Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA (URL: http://www.gps.caltech.edu/); C. Annen, M. Humphreys, A. le Friant, and R.S.J. Sparks, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1RJ, UK.

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

Eruptive History

The Global Volcanism Program is not aware of any Holocene eruptions from Uturuncu. If this volcano has had large eruptions (VEI >= 4) prior to 10,000 years ago, information might be found on the Uturuncu page in the LaMEVE (Large Magnitude Explosive Volcanic Eruptions) database, a part of the Volcano Global Risk Identification and Analysis Project (VOGRIPA).

Deformation History

There is data available for 1 deformation periods. Expand each entry for additional details.


Deformation during 1992 - 2011 [Uplift; Observed by InSAR]

Start Date: 1992 Stop Date: 2011 Direction: Uplift Method: InSAR
Magnitude: Unknown Spatial Extent: 70.00 km Latitude: -22.000 Longitude: -67.000

Remarks: Uturuncu volcano has been uplifting monotonically at a rate of 1 cm/year since at least 1992 and shows evidence for a broad moat of subsidence surrounding the uplifting region.

Figure (see Caption)

Profiles through uplift at Uturuncu volcano based on descending stacks of (left) track 282 and (right) track 10. Uplift is axis-symmetric with a diameter of approximately 70 km.

From: Henderson and Pritchard 2013.


Reference List: Pritchard and Simons 2002; Pritchard and Simons 2004; Sparks et al. 2008; Henderson and Pritchard 2013; Fialko and Pearse 2012.

Full References:

Fialko, Y., and J. Pearse, 2012. Sombrero uplift above the Altiplano-Puna magma body: Evidence of a ballooning mid-crustal diapir. Science, 338: 250-252.

Henderson, S. T., and M. E. Pritchard, 2013. Decadal volcanic deformation in the central Andes volcanic zone revealed by InSAR time series. Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems, 14: 1358–1374. https://doi.org/10.1002.ggge.20074

Pritchard, M. E., and M. Simons, 2002. A satellite geodetic survey of large-scale deformation of volcanic centres in the central Andes. Nature, 418, 167-171. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature00872

Pritchard, M. E., and M. Simons, 2004. Surveying volcanic arcs with satellite interferometry: The central Andes, Kamchatka, and beyond. GSA Today, 14(8), 4-9. https://doi.org/10.1130/1052-5173(2004)014<4:SVAWSR>2.0.CO

Sparks, R. S. J., C. B. Foulkes, M. C. S. Humphreys, D. Barford, J. Clavero, S. Mayel, S. R. McNutt, and M. E. Pritchard, 2008. Uturuncu volcano, Bolivia: Volcanic unrest due to a mid-crustal magma intrusion. Am. J. Sci., 308, 727-769. https://doi.org/10.2475/06.2008.01

Emission History

There is no Emissions History data available for Uturuncu.

GVP Map Holdings

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. The maps database originated over 30 years ago, but was only recently updated and connected to our main database. We welcome users to tell us if they see incorrect information or other problems with the maps; please use the Contact GVP link at the bottom of the page to send us email.

Smithsonian Sample Collections Database

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

External Sites