Smithsonian Institution / US Geological Survey
Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 10 November-16 November 2010
Managing Editor: Sally Sennert
Please cite this report as:
Global Volcanism Program, 2010. Report on Planchon-Peteroa (Chile) (Sennert, S, ed.). Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 10 November-16 November 2010. Smithsonian Institution and US Geological Survey. https://volcano.si.edu/showreport.cfm?gvpvar=GVP.WVAR20101110-357040
On 11 November, SERNAGEOMIN reported that seismicity from Planchón-Peteroa remained low. Observations from multiple sources, including a web camera and satellite images, showed that the height of the gas plume was lower than the previously reported height of 200 m, observed during 15-25 October. The Alert Level was lowered to 2, Green.
Source: Servicio Nacional de Geología y Minería (SERNAGEOMIN)
Geological Summary. Planchón-Peteroa is an elongated complex volcano along the Chile-Argentina border with several overlapping calderas. Activity began in the Pleistocene with construction of the basaltic andesite to dacitic Volcán Azufre, followed by formation of the basaltic and basaltic andesite Volcán Planchón, 6 km N. About 11,500 years ago much of Azufre and part of Planchón collapsed, forming the massive Río Teno debris avalanche, which traveled 95 km to reach Chile's Central Valley. Subsequently, Volcán Planchón II was formed. The youngest volcano, andesitic and basaltic andesite Volcán Peteroa, consists of scattered vents between Azufre and Planchón, and contains a small steaming crater lake. Reported eruptions from the complex have been dominantly explosive, although lava flows were emplaced in 1837 and 1937.