Report on Chaiten (Chile) — 20 August-26 August 2008
Smithsonian Institution / US Geological Survey
Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 20 August-26 August 2008
Managing Editor: Sally Sennert.
Please cite this report as:
Global Volcanism Program, 2008. Report on Chaiten (Chile) (Sennert, S, ed.). Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 20 August-26 August 2008. Smithsonian Institution and US Geological Survey.
Chaiten
Chile
42.8349°S, 72.6514°W; summit elev. 1122 m
All times are local (unless otherwise noted)
Based on web camera views, pilot observations, and analysis of satellite imagery, the Buenos Aires VAAC reported that during 20-23 and 26 August ash plumes from Chaitén rose to altitudes of 2.1-3 km (7,000-10,000 ft) a.s.l. and drifted SE, E, and NE. A thermal anomaly over the lava dome was detected on satellite imagery during 22-23 August.
Geological Summary. Chaitén is a small caldera (~3 km in diameter) located 10 km NE of the town of Chaitén on the Gulf of Corcovado. Multiple explosive eruptions throughout the Holocene have been identified. A rhyolitic obsidian lava dome occupies much of the caldera floor. Obsidian cobbles from this dome found in the Blanco River are the source of artifacts from archaeological sites along the Pacific coast as far as 400 km from the volcano to the N and S. The caldera is breached on the SW side by a river that drains to the bay of Chaitén. The first recorded eruption, beginning in 2008, produced major rhyolitic explosive activity and building a new dome and tephra cone on the older rhyolite dome.