Report on Chaiten (Chile) — 4 February-10 February 2009
Smithsonian Institution / US Geological Survey
Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 4 February-10 February 2009
Managing Editor: Sally Sennert.
Please cite this report as:
Global Volcanism Program, 2009. Report on Chaiten (Chile) (Sennert, S, ed.). Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 4 February-10 February 2009. 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 SIGMET notices, analysis of satellite imagery, reports from the Puerto Montt Flight Information Region (FIR), and web camera views, the Buenos Aires VAAC reported that on 4, 6, and 7 February ash plumes from Chaitén rose to altitudes 2-3 km (6,500-10,000 ft) a.s.l. and drifted N, NE, and SE.
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.