Global Volcanism Program

The Global Volcanism Program has no activity reports available for Tacora.

The Global Volcanism Program has no Weekly Reports available for Tacora.

The Global Volcanism Program has no Bulletin Reports available for Tacora.

Basic Data

Volcano Number

Last Known Eruption

Elevation

Latitude
Longitude

355010

Unknown - Unrest / Holocene

5,960 m / 19,554 ft

17.7209°S
69.7728°W

Morphology

Volcano Landform
Composite

Volcano Types
Stratovolcano(es)

Rock Types

Major
Andesite / Basaltic Andesite

Tectonic Setting

Subduction zone
Continental crust (> 25 km)

Population

Within 5 km
Within 10 km
Within 30 km
Within 100 km

7
539
8,757
411,691

Geological Summary

The andesitic Tacora volcano of Chile is along the northern Chile-southern Peru border. It overlies a flat-lying ignimbrite platform forming the Arica Altiplano. An explosion crater lies on the NW side 300 m below the summit, but the darkest and possibly most recent lava flows are down the SSW flank and appear to overlie glacial valleys (de Silva, 2007 pers. comm.). About 6 km NNW from the summit the older Chupiquiña volcano is at the end of a line of smaller edifices, with seven distinct peaks, extending N for ~10 km. Solfataric and fumarolic activity has been reported on the E side of the volcano (Catalog of Active Volcanoes of the World), along with hot springs. Hantke (1939b) cited a report of eruptions in 1930 and 1937 that are not listed in other sources. Moreno (1985 pers. comm.) indicated there may not have been Holocene eruptions. Numerous sulfur mines occupy the saddle between Tacora and Chupiquiña, and hot springs are located on the eastern side of Tacora.

References

The following references have all been used during the compilation of data for this volcano, it is not a comprehensive bibliography.

Casertano L, 1963. Chilean Continent. Catalog of Active Volcanoes of the World and Solfatara Fields, Rome: IAVCEI, 15: 1-55.

de Silva S L, 2007. (pers. comm.).

de Silva S L, Francis P W, 1991. Volcanoes of the Central Andes. Berlin: Springer-Verlag, 216 p.

Gonzalez-Ferran O, 1974. Arica - Nevados de Payachata. IAVCEI Andean Antarctic Volc Problems Guide Book - Excursion A-1, 3-35.

Gonzalez-Ferran O, 1995. Volcanes de Chile. Santiago: Instituto Geografico Militar, 635 p.

Hantke G, 1939. Ubersicht uber die Vulkanische Tatigkeit vom April bis Dezember 1938. Zeit Deut Geol Ges, 91: 757-765.

IAVCEI, 1973-80. Post-Miocene Volcanoes of the World. IAVCEI Data Sheets, Rome: Internatl Assoc Volc Chemistry Earth's Interior.

Moreno H, 1985. (pers. comm.).

Eruptive History

There is data available for 0 confirmed Holocene eruptive periods.

[ 1937 Aug 5 ] Uncertain Eruption

Episode 1 | Eruption (Explosive / Effusive)

1937 Aug 5 - Unknown

Evidence from Unknown

List of 1 Events for Episode 1

	Start Date	End Date	Event Type	Event Remarks
	- - - -	- - - -	Explosion	Uncertain

[ 1930 ] Uncertain Eruption

Episode 1 \| Eruption (Explosive / Effusive)
1930 - Unknown				Evidence from Unknown

This compilation of synonyms and subsidiary features may not be comprehensive. Features are organized into four major categories: Cones, Craters, Domes, and Thermal Features. Synonyms of features appear indented below the primary name. In some cases additional feature type, elevation, or location details are provided.

Cones

Feature Name

Feature Type

Elevation

Latitude

Longitude

Chupiquiña, Nevado

Stratovolcano

5980 m

17° 40' 0.00" S

69° 29' 0.00" W

Photo Gallery

Towering 5980-m-high Tacora, the northernmost volcano of Chile, lies near the border with Perú and is a twin volcano with Chupiquina. Tacora is seen here from the SE. Although there have been uncertain reports of historical eruptions, and solfataric and fumarolic activity has been reported on the east side, Holocene eruptions from Tacora have not been documented.

Photo by Oscar González-Ferrán (University of Chile).

Tacora, the northernmost volcano of Chile, rises to the NW above the steep-walled Allane valley. The 5980-m-high Tacora lies near the border with Perú and is a twin volcano with Chupiquina, hidden behind Tacora in this view. Although there have been uncertain reports of historical eruptions, and solfataric and fumarolic activity has been reported on the east side, Holocene eruptions have not been documented. The Arica to La Paz railway transects the plateau on the northern side of the Allane valley.

Photo by Lee Siebert, 2004 (Smithsonian Institution).

Smithsonian Sample Collections Database

There are no samples for Tacora in the Smithsonian's NMNH Department of Mineral Sciences Rock and Ore collection.

External Sites

Copernicus Browser

The Copernicus Browser replaced the Sentinel Hub Playground browser in 2023, to provide access to Earth observation archives from the Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem, the main distribution platform for data from the EU Copernicus missions.

MIROVA

Middle InfraRed Observation of Volcanic Activity (MIROVA) is a near real time volcanic hot-spot detection system based on the analysis of MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) data. In particular, MIROVA uses the Middle InfraRed Radiation (MIR), measured over target volcanoes, in order to detect, locate and measure the heat radiation sourced from volcanic activity.

MODVOLC Thermal Alerts

Using infrared satellite Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data, scientists at the Hawai'i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, University of Hawai'i, developed an automated system called MODVOLC to map thermal hot-spots in near real time. For each MODIS image, the algorithm automatically scans each 1 km pixel within it to check for high-temperature hot-spots. When one is found the date, time, location, and intensity are recorded. MODIS looks at every square km of the Earth every 48 hours, once during the day and once during the night, and the presence of two MODIS sensors in space allows at least four hot-spot observations every two days. Each day updated global maps are compiled to display the locations of all hot spots detected in the previous 24 hours. There is a drop-down list with volcano names which allow users to 'zoom-in' and examine the distribution of hot-spots at a variety of spatial scales.

WOVOdat
   Single Volcano View
   Temporal Evolution of Unrest
   Side by Side Volcanoes

WOVOdat is a database of volcanic unrest; instrumentally and visually recorded changes in seismicity, ground deformation, gas emission, and other parameters from their normal baselines. It is sponsored by the World Organization of Volcano Observatories (WOVO) and presently hosted at the Earth Observatory of Singapore.

GVMID Data on Volcano Monitoring Infrastructure The Global Volcano Monitoring Infrastructure Database GVMID, is aimed at documenting and improving capabilities of volcano monitoring from the ground and space. GVMID should provide a snapshot and baseline view of the techniques and instrumentation that are in place at various volcanoes, which can be use by volcano observatories as reference to setup new monitoring system or improving networks at a specific volcano. These data will allow identification of what monitoring gaps exist, which can be then targeted by remote sensing infrastructure and future instrument deployments.

Volcanic Hazard Maps

The IAVCEI Commission on Volcanic Hazards and Risk has a Volcanic Hazard Maps database designed to serve as a resource for hazard mappers (or other interested parties) to explore how common issues in hazard map development have been addressed at different volcanoes, in different countries, for different hazards, and for different intended audiences. In addition to the comprehensive, searchable Volcanic Hazard Maps Database, this website contains information about diversity of volcanic hazard maps, illustrated using examples from the database. This site is for educational purposes related to volcanic hazard maps. Hazard maps found on this website should not be used for emergency purposes. For the most recent, official hazard map for a particular volcano, please seek out the proper institutional authorities on the matter.

IRIS seismic stations/networks

Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS) Data Services map showing the location of seismic stations from all available networks (permanent or temporary) within a radius of 0.18° (about 20 km at mid-latitudes) from the given location of Tacora. Users can customize a variety of filters and options in the left panel. Note that if there are no stations are known the map will default to show the entire world with a "No data matched request" error notice.

UNAVCO GPS/GNSS stations

Geodetic Data Services map from UNAVCO showing the location of GPS/GNSS stations from all available networks (permanent or temporary) within a radius of 20 km from the given location of Tacora. Users can customize the data search based on station or network names, location, and time window. Requires Adobe Flash Player.

DECADE Data

The DECADE portal, still in the developmental stage, serves as an example of the proposed interoperability between The Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanism Program, the Mapping Gas Emissions (MaGa) Database, and the EarthChem Geochemical Portal. The Deep Earth Carbon Degassing (DECADE) initiative seeks to use new and established technologies to determine accurate global fluxes of volcanic CO₂ to the atmosphere, but installing CO₂ monitoring networks on 20 of the world's 150 most actively degassing volcanoes. The group uses related laboratory-based studies (direct gas sampling and analysis, melt inclusions) to provide new data for direct degassing of deep earth carbon to the atmosphere.

Large Eruptions of Tacora

Information about large Quaternary eruptions (VEI >= 4) is cataloged in the Large Magnitude Explosive Volcanic Eruptions (LaMEVE) database of the Volcano Global Risk Identification and Analysis Project (VOGRIPA).

EarthChem

EarthChem develops and maintains databases, software, and services that support the preservation, discovery, access and analysis of geochemical data, and facilitate their integration with the broad array of other available earth science parameters. EarthChem is operated by a joint team of disciplinary scientists, data scientists, data managers and information technology developers who are part of the NSF-funded data facility Integrated Earth Data Applications (IEDA). IEDA is a collaborative effort of EarthChem and the Marine Geoscience Data System (MGDS).