Global Volcanism Program | Cordón de Puntas Negras

The Global Volcanism Program has no activity reports available for Cordón de Puntas Negras.

The Global Volcanism Program has no Weekly Reports available for Cordón de Puntas Negras.

The Global Volcanism Program has no Bulletin Reports available for Cordón de Puntas Negras.

Basic Data

Volcano Number

Last Known Eruption

Elevation

Latitude
Longitude

355101

Unknown - Evidence Credible

5,852 m / 19,199 ft

23.743°S
67.534°W

Morphology

Volcano Landform
Composite

Volcano Types
Stratovolcano(es)
Lava dome(s)
Maar(s)

Rock Types

Major
Andesite / Basaltic Andesite
Dacite

Tectonic Setting

Subduction zone
Continental crust (> 25 km)

Population

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

0
0
217
5,798

Geological Summary

Two intersecting volcanic chains, the Cordón de Puntas Negras and Cordón Chalviri, trend roughly SE from Chiliques volcano to Volcán Puntas Negras stratovolcano and SW from there to Cerro Tuyajto, respectively. The chain of small cones, lava domes, lava flows, and maars covers an area of about 500 km² and contains at least 25 different vents. The Cordón de Puntas Negras is situated along the southern margin of the 35 x 70 km Pliocene La Pacana caldera. The pristine morphology of many of the volcanic features indicates a Holocene (de Silva and Francis, 1991) or historical (González-Ferrán, 1995) age. Small cones such as Cerros Cenizas, Aguas Calientes, Laguna Escondida, and Chinchilla have well-preserved summit craters and produced short lava flows. A distinct maar-type vent is present, as well as a 13 km² silicic lava flow and dome complex. A volcanic center immediately SE of Cerro Laguna Escondida appears to be the youngest vent of the complex.

References

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

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

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

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

Eruptive History

The Global Volcanism Program is not aware of any Holocene eruptions from Cordón de Puntas Negras. If this volcano has had large eruptions (VEI >= 4) prior to 12,000 years ago, information might be found on the Cordón de Puntas Negras page in the LaMEVE (Large Magnitude Explosive Volcanic Eruptions) database, a part of the Volcano Global Risk Identification and Analysis Project (VOGRIPA).

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

Azufrera Aguas Calientes, Cerro

Cone

5399 m

23° 37' 13.00" S

67° 37' 53.00" W

Azufrera Perro Muerto, Cerro

Cone

5673 m

23° 42' 8.00" S

67° 36' 12.00" W

Azufrera Yacimiento, Cerro

Cone

5496 m

23° 39' 18.00" S

67° 37' 0.00" W

Azufreras Tuyajto

Cone

5390 m

23° 51' 28.00" S

67° 36' 14.00" W

Cenizas, Cerro

Cone

5671 m

23° 35' 53.00" S

67° 39' 56.00" W

Chincillas, Cerro las

Cone

5400 m

23° 43' 22.00" S

67° 34' 7.00" W

Escondida, Cerro Laguna

Cone

5550 m

23° 40' 12.00" S

67° 39' 24.00" W

Puntas Negras, Volcán

Stratovolcano

5880 m

23° 44' 44.00" S

67° 32' 24.00" W

Tuyajto, Cerro

Stratovolcano

5561 m

23° 50' 45.00" S

67° 37' 35.00" W

Photo Gallery

An aerial view looks down on the andesitic-dacitic lava domes that form the eruptive complex Laguna Escondida in Cordón Puntas Negras.

Photo by Instituto Geográfico Militar, courtesy of Oscar González-Ferrán (University of Chile).

The Cordón de Puntas Negras, a NW-SE-trending chain of small cones, lava domes, and lava flows, extends from SE of Cerro Chiliques to the Volcán Puntas Negras stratovolcano. This view of the southern end of the chain shows multiple vents that fed pristine-looking lava flows with prominent flow levees. The Cordón de Puntas Negras chain is situated along the southern margin of the 35 x 70 km Pliocene La Pacana caldera.

Photo by Instituto Geográfico Militar, courtesy of Oscar González-Ferrán (University of Chile).

Cerro Overo maar in the foreground was formed by phreatomagmatic explosions. A thin, roughly 1.5-m-thick, dark-colored ejecta blanket surrounds the 600-m-wide, 80-m-deep maar. The maar is located on the lower NE flank of Volcán Chiliques and was erupted along a regional fault through basement ignimbrites of Pliocene age from the La Pacana caldera. On the horizon to the right is the east side of Tumisa and the dome "Negro de Barriales." On the left is the Lejia stratovolcano and caldera. Laguna Agua Caliente is at the right-center.

Photo by Instituto Geográfico Militar (courtesy of Oscar González-Ferrán, University of Chile).

Smithsonian Sample Collections Database

There are no samples for Cordón de Puntas Negras 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 Cordón de Puntas Negras. 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 Cordón de Puntas Negras. 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 Cordón de Puntas Negras

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).