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Report on Callaqui (Chile) — March 1990


Callaqui

Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network, vol. 15, no. 3 (March 1990)
Managing Editor: Lindsay McClelland.

Callaqui (Chile) Steam jetting from fumaroles

Please cite this report as:

Global Volcanism Program, 1990. Report on Callaqui (Chile) (McClelland, L., ed.). Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network, 15:3. Smithsonian Institution. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.GVP.BGVN199003-357091



Callaqui

Chile

37.92°S, 71.45°W; summit elev. 3164 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


Steam jets from that rose 300-400 m from fumaroles on the SE flank, 200 m below the summit, were observed during dry weather at about noon on 9 and 16 March.

Geological Summary. The late-Pleistocene to Holocene Callaqui stratovolcano has a profile of an overturned canoe, due to its construction along an 11-km-long, SW-NE fissure above a 1.2-0.3 million year old Pleistocene edifice. The ice-capped, basaltic-andesite volcano contains well-preserved cones and lava flows, which have traveled up to 14 km. Small craters 100-500 m in diameter are primarily found along a fissure extending down the SW flank. Intense solfataric activity occurs at the southern portion of the summit; in 1966 and 1978, red glow was observed in fumarolic areas (Moreno 1985, pers. comm.). Periods of intense fumarolic activity have dominated; few historical eruptions are known. An explosive eruption was reported in 1751, there were uncertain accounts of eruptions in 1864 and 1937, and a small phreatic ash emission was noted in 1980.

Information Contacts: J. Naranjo, SERNAGEOMIN, Santiago; H. Moreno, Univ de Chile.