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Report on Villarrica (Chile) — 30 September-6 October 2020


Villarrica

Smithsonian Institution / US Geological Survey
Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 30 September-6 October 2020
Managing Editor: Sally Sennert.

Please cite this report as:

Global Volcanism Program, 2020. Report on Villarrica (Chile) (Sennert, S, ed.). Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 30 September-6 October 2020. Smithsonian Institution and US Geological Survey.

Weekly Report (30 September-6 October 2020)

Villarrica

Chile

39.42°S, 71.93°W; summit elev. 2847 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


SERNAGEOMIN reported that a long-period (LP) event and associated explosion were recorded by Villarrica’s seismic network at 1130 on 4 October. A grayish plume was visible rising above the crater rim. At 1343 and 1347 on 5 October there were two LP events and associated explosions; each generated ash plumes that rose as high as 400 m. The Alert Level remained at Yellow, the second lowest level on a four-color scale. ONEMI maintained an Alert Level Yellow (the middle level on a three-color scale) for the municipalities of Villarrica, Pucón (16 km N), Curarrehue, and the commune of Panguipulli, and the exclusion zone for the public of 500 m around the crater.

Geological Summary. The glacier-covered Villarrica stratovolcano, in the northern Lakes District of central Chile, is ~15 km south of the city of Pucon. A 2-km-wide caldera that formed about 3,500 years ago is located at the base of the presently active, dominantly basaltic to basaltic-andesite cone at the NW margin of a 6-km-wide Pleistocene caldera. More than 30 scoria cones and fissure vents are present on the flanks. Plinian eruptions and pyroclastic flows that have extended up to 20 km from the volcano were produced during the Holocene. Lava flows up to 18 km long have issued from summit and flank vents. Eruptions documented since 1558 CE have consisted largely of mild-to-moderate explosive activity with occasional lava effusion. Glaciers cover 40 km2 of the volcano, and lahars have damaged towns on its flanks.

Sources: Servicio Nacional de Geología y Minería (SERNAGEOMIN), Oficina Nacional de Emergencia-Ministerio del Interior (ONEMI)