Chile has 91 Holocene volcanoes. Note that as a scientific organization we provide these listings for informational purposes only, with no international legal or policy implications. Volcanoes will be included on this list if they are within the boundaries of a country, on a shared boundary or area, in a remote territory, or within a maritime Exclusive Economic Zone. Bolded volcanoes have erupted within the past 20 years. Suggestions and data updates are always welcome ().

Chronological listing of known Holocene eruptions (confirmed or uncertain) from volcanoes in Chile. Bolded eruptions indicate continuing activity.

Chile has 67 Pleistocene volcanoes. Note that as a scientific organization we provide these listings for informational purposes only, with no international legal or policy implications. Volcanoes will be included on this list if they are within the boundaries of a country, on a shared boundary or area, in a remote territory, or within a maritime Exclusive Economic Zone. Suggestions and data updates are always welcome ().

There are 253 photos available for volcanoes in Chile.

The broad profile of the snow-covered Sollipulli massif lies on the horizon to the NE as seen from the upper slopes of Villarrica volcano. A 4-km-wide caldera with post-caldera lava domes on its rim lies on the eastern side of the Nevados de Sollipulli volcanic chain. The rounded hills in the middle distance are pyroclastic cones of the Caburgua-Huelemolle volcano group; lava flows from these cones dammed drainages, forming Laguna Caburgua, visible at the upper left.

Photo by Lee Siebert, 2004 (Smithsonian Institution). The valley cutting diagonally across the center of this NASA Landsat image (with north to the top) is a tributary of the Río Murta (left) that is partly floored by basaltic lava flows. The Río Ibáñez cuts across the top of the image. The flows were emplaced, partly subglacially, in valleys carved by glaciers in granitic rocks of the North Patagonian Batholith in the southern Andes. The columnar-jointed lava flows of Pleistocene to perhaps Holocene age include pillow lavas, lava tubes, and subglacial and sublacustral deposits.

NASA Landsat 7 image (worldwind.arc.nasa.gov) Snow-capped Volcán Chiliques is a conical stratovolcano located NNE of Laguna Miscanti (foreground). The 5778-m-high summit of the volcano contains a 500-m-wide crater. Several youthful lava flows, some of which are considered to be of Holocene age descend its flanks. Chiliques had previously been considered to be dormant; however, in 2002 a NASA nighttime thermal infrared satellite image showed low-level hot spots in the summit crater and upper flanks.

Photo by Carlos Felipe Ramírez (courtesy of Oscar González-Ferrán, University of Chile). A billowing dark, ash-rich eruption column rises above a cinder cone on the NE flank of Chile's Lonquimay volcano in January 1989. During the course of an eruption that lasted from December 1988 until January 1990, heavy ashfall blanketed the countryside, causing severe disruption to agricultural areas near the volcano. The ash was high in fluorine, unusual for Andean volcanoes. Fluorine poisoning from ash on ingested grass caused the deaths of hundreds of cattle and horses, producing severe economic hardship.

Photo courtesy of Hugo Moreno, 1989 (University of Chile). A long E-W-trending volcanic chain extends across the border between Chile and Bolivia in this NASA International Space Station image (with north to the upper right). The chain extends from historically active Isluga volcano (upper left) to eroded Saxani volcano at the lower right. The smaller volcano immediately to the west of Saxani with a sharp shadow is the steep-sided Tata Sabaya volcano. Tata Sabaya was the source of a major debris-avalanche deposit (bottom center) that forms the small dark-colored hills on the white floor of Salar de Coipasa.

NASA International Space Station image ISS009-E-6849, 2004 (http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/). Volcán Descabezado Grande, seen here from the west, is a late-Pleistocene to Holocene stratovolcano with a 1.4-km-wide ice-filled summit crater. The Holocene Alto de las Mulas fissure on the lower NW flank (out of view to the left) produced young rhyodacitic lava flows. A lateral crater formed on the upper NNE flank in 1932, shortly after the end of the major 1932 eruption from nearby Quizapú volcano. This was the site of the only historical eruption of Descabezado Grande.

Photo by Hugo Moreno (University of Chile). The Cerro Bayo volcanic complex is along the Chile-Argentina border east of the Salar de Gorbea and is shown in this 21 October 2019 Planet Scope satellite image (N is at the top; the image is approximately 11.5 km across). A 430-m-diameter crater is visible at the summit of a scoria cone, and to the W are lobate lava flows with levees and pressure ridges.

Satellite image courtesy of Planet Labs Inc., 2019 (https://www.planet.com/). The irregular 10-km-long N-S-trending chain just left of the center of this Landsat image is Cerros de Guayaques. These rhyodacitic lava domes straddle the Chile-Bolivia border. The 10-km-long chain is located immediately east of the Purico pyroclastic shield, part of which is visible on the left side of the image. A well-defined summit crater was the source of the largest lava flows, which form the lobate flows that extend 3 km to the SW. There are no records of historical activity from Guayaques volcano.

NASA Landsat image, 1999 (courtesy of Hawaii Synergy Project, Univ. of Hawaii Institute of Geophysics & Planetology). Tupungatito volcano, the northernmost historically active volcano of the central Chilean Andes, is the broad, glacier-clad massif at the right center. The glacial icecap fills the southern side of the Pleistocene Nevado Sin Nombre caldera, which is breached to the NW, in the direction of this photo. A dozen Holocene craters are found at Tupungatito, which has produced frequent mild explosive eruptions during the 19th and 20th centuries. Tupungatito is located immediately SW of Pleistocene Tupungato volcano, the large conical peak at the left.

Photo by Sergio Kunstmann-Z, courtesy of Oscar González-Ferrán (University of Chile). This April 2019 Planet Labs satellite image monthly mosaic (N is at the top; this image is approximately 23 km across) highlights the lava flow morphologies of the Sierra Nevada complex in Chile. The complex covers around 225 km² and has at least 12 vents with associated lava flows. The 1-km-wide Cumbre del Laudo crater is on the eastern end with an oxidized scoria deposit around the vent.

Satellite image courtesy of Planet Labs Inc., 2019 (https://www.planet.com/). Persistent fumarolic activity occurs in the summit crater of Tinguiririca volcano.

Photo by Wolfgang Foerster, courtesy of Oscar González-Ferrán (University of Chile). The Cerro Purico complex is shown in this 5 November 2019 Sentinel-2 satellite image (N is at the top; the image is approximately 43 km across). The dome containing white material at the top is Cerro Toco, then towards the SW is Cerro Chajnantor and Cerro Chascón. The dark lava flow to the W was erupted from Cerro Negro, then towards the SW is Cerros de Macon, Cerro Putas, and Cerro Aspero, and the edifice with the crater in the SW corner is Alitar.

Satellite image courtesy of Copernicus Sentinel Data, 2019. Glacier-clad Melimoyu is the prominent stratovolcano in this oblique NASA International Space Station image looking west toward the Corcovado Gulf. The volcano has an ice-filled 8-km-wide caldera that is drained by a glacier through a notch in the NE rim. The basaltic-andesite volcano is Pleistocene-Holocene in age.

NASA International Space Station image ISS006-E-42370, 2003 (http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/). Caichinque is between the Salar Capur (left) and Salar Talar (right) lakes, seen here in this 22 November 2019 Sentinel-2 satellite image (N is at the top). More than six vents have produced lava flows, with the one to the south reaching 6 km.

Satellite image courtesy of Copernicus Sentinel Data, 2019. The elongated Taapaca massif rises to the SE above the gentle slopes of block-and-ash flow deposits from the volcano. The steeply dipping lava flow on the left horizon caps hydrothermally altered rocks of a Pleistocene stratovolcano of the Taapaca II complex. The dome complex at the center is of part of the dacitic Pleistocene Taapaca III complex, and the light-colored dome at the right is part of the dacitic Pleistocene-to-Holocene Taapaca IV complex.

Photo by Lee Siebert, 2004 (Smithsonian Institution). Maipo volcano, seen here from the west, partially fills the Pleistocene Diamante caldera. The floor of the large 15 x 20 km caldera, which formed about 0.45 million years ago during an eruption that produced a 450 cu km ignimbrite, is visible below Maipo. The 5264-m-high basaltic-andesite stratovolcano has a relatively simple structure, but has a flank rhyodacitic lava-dome complex and pyroclastic cones on its eastern flank. Lava flows from these cones extend into Laguna Diamante on the eastern side of the caldera.

Photo by Wolfgang Foerster, courtesy of Oscar González-Ferrán (University of Chile). A near-vertical aerial view into the ~250-m-wide summit crater of Villarrica volcano on November 19, 2004 shows an incandescent lava lake in the steep-walled inner crater. The chain of dots left (north) of the crater are climbers near the crater rim. Night-time glow was periodically visible from the town of Pucón on the north flank of volcano beginning in August 2004 and intensified in November and December. Small strombolian explosions in December ejected spatter and bombs onto the crater rim.

Photo by Jean-Claude Tanguy, 2004 (Institute de Physique du Globe de Paris). Acamarachi, an impressively steep-sided andesitic-dacitic volcano with slopes that reach about 45 degrees, towers above Laguna Aguas Calientes. The 6046-m-high Acamarachi is the highest peak in this part of the northern Andes and lies at the SSE end of a small volcanic complex that extends from the neighboring volcano Colachi. A poorly preserved summit crater and the absence of youthful flank lava flows suggest that Acamarachi was largely constructed in pre-Holocene times, although the summit lava flows may be younger.

Photo by Oscar González-Ferrán (University of Chile). Antuco volcano, seen here from the NW, has a complicated history beginning with construction of an andesitic stratovolcano during the Pleistocene. Edifice failure at the beginning of the Holocene produced a large debris avalanche that traveled down the Río Laja to the west. The collapse left a large horseshoe-shaped caldera whose NW rim forms the ridge descending to the right. The steep-sided modern basaltic cone (upper right) has grown 1000 m since then. Moderate explosive eruptions were recorded in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Photo by Norm Banks, 1990 (U.S. Geological Survey). Llaima, one of Chile's largest and most active volcanoes, has a symmetrical profile when seen from the north. The massive, 3125-m-high, glacier-covered stratovolcano is constructed primarily of accumulated lava flows and has a volume of 400 cu km. Volcán Llaima contains two historically active craters, one at the summit and the other to the SE. More than 40 scoria cones dot the volcano's flanks. Frequent moderate explosive eruptions, a few of which were accompanied by lava flows, have been recorded since the 17th century.

Photo by Norm Banks, 1990 (U.S. Geological Survey). Steam rises from the fumarolically active southern summit crater of Irruputuncu, a small stratovolcano that straddles the Chile/Bolivia border. Irruputuncu, seen here from the WSW, was constructed within the collapse scarp of a Holocene debris avalanche whose deposit extends to the SW. Levees of viscous lava flows down the western flank of an edifice that was constructed within this scarp are seen at the lower left. The first unambiguous historical eruption from Irruputuncu took place in November 1995.

Photo by José Naranjo, 2001 (Servico Nacional de Geologica y Mineria). Cerro Tujle maar is the crater in the center of this March 2019 Planet Labs satellite image monthly mosaic (N is at the top), located in the Central Volcanic Zone of the northern Chilean Andes. The 333 x 279 m crater is 60 m deep, and around it are tephra and lava flows.

Satellite image courtesy of Planet Labs Inc., 2019 (https://www.planet.com/). Volcán Copiapó in Atacama province is seen here from the north, with satellitic cones on its flanks. The San Román eruptive center of probable Pleistocene age can be seen at the base of the volcano at the left-center. Although the volcano was reported to have displayed solfataric activity, Holocene eruptive activity from Copiapó is uncertain.

Photo by Oscar González-Ferrán (University of Chile). Incandescent spatter and bombs ejected from a lava lake at the bottom of a steep-sided, ~40-m-wide inner crater are seen from the SW rim of Villarrica's outer crater on November 19, 2004. Incandescence was seen above the summit crater the nights of August 5-6 and October 27-28, 2004 and frequently during November and December. Strombolian explosions ejected material to 100 m the night of December 12-13. Ground observations of summit lava lake activity and minor strombolian explosions were continued into 2006.

Photo by Lee Siebert, 2004 (Smithsonian Institution). The light-colored layer at the bottom of the photo is a plinian pumice-fall deposit from Llaima volcano that has been radiocarbon dated at about 8800 year ago. The deposit is 4-m thick at this location, on the Río Trufultruful, 12 km SE of the summit. The dacitic pumice is the most silicic eruptive product known from Llaima and marks the largest known eruption of the volcano during the Holocene. The darker, laminated layers above the pumice deposit are 6-8 m thick pyroclastic-surge deposits from the same eruption.

Photo by Norm Banks, 1990 (U.S. Geological Survey). The elongated, glacier-covered massif near the center of this NASA International Space Station image (with north to the left) is Yanteles volcano in southern Chile. The volcano is composed of five glacier-capped peaks along an 8-km-long NE-trending ridge. Historical eruptions from this 2042-m-high, andesitic volcanic complex are uncertain.

NASA International Space Station image ISS006-E-42998, 2003 (http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/). Long-term phreatomagmatic eruptions accompanying formation of a new lava dome on the SE flank of Volcán Nuevo began in 1973. This photo shows a small explosive eruption on February 21, 1979. Activity died down in 1983, when intermittent explosions (about one every two months) began. This continued into 1987, by which time the new cone was about 30 m taller than Volcán Nuevo.

Photo by Oscar González-Ferrán, 1979 (University of Chile). Glaciated Volcán Guallatiri is in the center of this December 2017 Planet Labs satellite image monthly mosaic (N is at the top; this image is approximately 23 km across). Thick lava flows, domes, and coulees form the flanks, a lava dome complex forms the summit, and both the summit and southwest fumarole fields remain active. The Domo Tinto lava dome formed on the SSW flank around 5,000 years ago.

Satellite image courtesy of Planet Labs Inc., 2017 (https://www.planet.com/). Cordón del Azufre is in the center of this 22 May 2019 Planet Scope satellite image (N is at the top), located along the Chile-Argentina border. The darker lava flow originated from Volcán la Moyra, the youngest feature of the volcanic field, reaching 6 km to the W. The complex includes a N-S chain of four craters and numerous lava flows.

Satellite image courtesy of Planet Labs Inc., 2019 (https://www.planet.com/). The dome-filled caldera of Chaitén volcano is seen in an aerial view from the south taken prior to an eruption in 2008. The volcano is located 10 km NE of the town of Chaitén on the Gulf of Corcovado. The elliptical 2.5 x 4 km wide summit caldera was formed during an eruption dated at about 9400 years ago. A rhyolitic, 962-m-high obsidian lava dome occupies much of the caldera floor.

Photo by Eric Manríquez T. (Instituto Geográfico Militar). Cuernos del Diablo is a small glacially eroded edifice in Chile, seen here in this 26 March 2019 Planet Scope satellite image (N is at the top; this image is approximately 9.5 km across). The volcano formed numerous smaller cones and lava flows during the Holocene.

Satellite image courtesy of Planet Labs Inc., 2019 (https://www.planet.com/). The symmetrical, glacier-clad Osorno stratovolcano forms a renowned landmark between Todos Los Santos and Llanguihue lakes. It is seen here from the north, with Calbuco volcano visible at the extreme right. The 2652-m-high Osorno is one of the most active volcanoes of the southern Chilean Andes. Flank scoria cones and fissure vents, primarily on the west and SW sides, have produced lava flows that reached Lago Llanguihue. Historical eruptions have originated from both summit and flank vents.

Photo by Hugo Moreno (University of Chile). Laguna Verde (left-center), a 5464-m-high stratovolcano located west of Colachi volcano, is seen here in an aerial view from the NE. The andesitic stratovolcano is one of cluster of volcanoes north and east of Lascar volcano. Collapse of part of the northern upper flank produced a debris avalanche that dammed the Quebrada Portor, forming the small lake in the foreground.

Photo by Insitituto Geográfico Militar, courtesy of Oscar González-Ferrán (University of Chile). The third historical eruption of the Carran-Los Venados volcanic field began with strombolian explosions at 0100 hrs on April 14, 1979. A 3-4 km high eruption column produced ashfall that covered agricultural lands near the volcano. A new pyroclastic cone rose at the site of a prehistorical cone. Lava flowed 1 km to the SSW from the new breached crater in April. Beginning on May 12, lava flows traveled short distances from the breached crater to the SE and from the crater rim to the NE base of the cone. The eruption ended on May 20.

Photo by Hugo Moreno, 1979 (University of Chile). The glaciated Sierra Nevada volcano (center) is an andesitic to basaltic stratovolcano that lies about 15 km NE of Llaima volcano (far left). A snow-capped 7-km-long, E-W zone of fissure vents is visible above and to the left of Sierra Nevada near Laguna Conquillio, whose shores are partially constrained by lava flows from the two volcanoes. The age of Sierra Nevada has been considered to be late-Pleistocene or late-Pleistocene to Holocene.

NASA International Space Station image ISS006-E-40420, 2003 (http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/). A blocky andesitic lava flow traveling at an average velocity of 4 meters per hour descended the Río Tepu valley on the NE flank of Calbuco during the 1961 eruption. Explosions and lava effusion began on February 1, and lahars caused extensive damage on the north flank, where they reached Lake Llanquihue. Lava flows traveled to the NE, NW, and SW, and a large explosion took place on March 10.

Photo by Oscar González-Ferrán, 1961 (University of Chile). Acamarachi, a steep-sided andesitic-dacitic volcano with slopes that reach about 45 degrees, forms a dramatic backdrop to a flock of flamingos in Laguna Lejía, to its south. The 6046-m-high Acamarachi is the highest peak in this part of the northern Andes. The Pleistocene Cerros de Pili range forms the right horizon. A poorly preserved summit crater and the absence of youthful flank lava flows suggests that Acamarchi was largely constructed in pre-Holocene times, although the summit lava flows may be young.

Copyrighted photo by Katia and Maurice Krafft, 1983. Symmetrical Volcán Parinacota rises north of Lake Chungará in the foreground. The lake was formed when collapse of an ancestral Parinacota edifice about 8000 years ago produced a massive 5-6 cu km debris avalanche that dammed a preexisting river. Subsequent eruptions of andesitic aa lava flows and andesitic pumice and scoria flows constructed the modern conical edifice, obscuring the avalanche source scarp. The summit of Parinacota volcano contains a pristine, 300-m-wide crater.

Photo by John Davidson, University of Michigan (courtesy of Hugo Moreno, University of Chile). A lahar from Villarrica volcano in the Chilean lake district sweeps down the Correntoso river into Lake Villarrica in December 1984. The lahar flattened a small wooden bridge and affected houses on the banks of the river. The mudflow originated when the rate of effusion of a lava flow moving down the glacier-covered flanks of the volcano increased during the afternoon of December 6. By the following day stream flow had returned to normal.

Copyrighted photo by Katia and Maurice Krafft, 1984. Volcán Chiliques, the conical peak at the left, is a structurally simple stratovolcano located immediately south of Laguna Lejía. A 500-m-wide snow-capped crater truncates the summit and contains a small lake. The volcano was constructed over a base of dacitic lava domes and andesitic lava flows. Youthful lava flows radially descended from the summit as far as 5 km to the NW. The volcanic complex at the right is the Pleistocene Volcán Lejía, which was constructed within a 3.5-km-wide caldera.

Photo by Instituto Geográfico Militar, courtesy of Oscar González-Ferrán (University of Chile). Cerros de Guayaques is the irregular 10-km-long N-S chain down the center of this 5 November 2019 Sentinel-2 satellite image, along the Chile-Bolivia border. The group consists of lava domes, and a crater near the center of the complex produced a 5-km-long lava flow to the SW and W.

Satellite image courtesy of Copernicus Sentinel Data, 2019. This viscous andesitic aa flow was erupted from the Volcanes de Ajata cinder cones along a N-S fracture on the southern flank of Parinacota. Helium-exposure ages of about 5985 and 6500 years ago were obtained from the lowermost and oldest of three lava flows of the Volcanes de Ajata. Snow-capped Acotango, Sajama, and Guallatiri volcanoes form the horizon to the east.

Photo by Oscar González-Ferrán (University of Chile). Putana volcano, also known as Jorgencal or Machuca, lies in the center of this Landsat image. Snow-covered areas are deep blue in this image of the N-S-trending volcanic complex, which covers an area of 600 km². The main edifice consists of accumulated postglacial dacitic lava domes and flows mantling an older pre-Holocene volcano. The youngest basaltic andesite lava flows are viscous and rarely extend more than 3 km. The prominent fan-shaped lava flow at the upper left originated from a flank vent.

NASA Landsat image, 1999 (courtesy of Hawaii Synergy Project, Univ. of Hawaii Institute of Geophysics & Planetology). A young scoria cone rises above the glacier-filled summit crater of 3621-m-high San Pedro stratovolcano, viewed here from the NW. The San Pedro-Pellado complex was constructed within the 6 x 12 km Río Colorado caldera, which formed during an eruption about 0.5 million years ago. San Pedro volcano itself is of Holocene age. No historical eruptions have been recorded from San Pedro-Pellado, but fumaroles are found SE of Pellado.

Photo by Oscar González-Ferrán (University of Chile). Two youthful large silicic lava flows flank the summit of Colachi volcano (upper left). The larger flow (bottom) covers a 7 km² area at the SE base of the volcano. The smaller flow on the NW flank is visible at the upper left. A smaller lava flow with pronounced lateral levees was erupted from a vent on the eastern flank.

Photo by Insitituto Geográfico Militar, courtesy of Oscar González-Ferrán (University of Chile). Casablanca volcano, whose summit is visible at the upper right, is the highest peak of the Antillanca volcano group. Raihuen crater (lower left) lies at the base of Casablanca. The Antillanca Group is a cluster of late-Pleistocene to Holocene scoria cones, maars, and small stratovolcanoes covering an area of 380 km² SE of Lago Puyehue and NE of Lago Rupanco. Older late-Pleistocene stratovolcanoes have been extensively dissected by glaciers, but numerous small Holocene volcanic centers are present.

Photo by Klaus Dorsch, 2001 (University of Munich). Snow capped volcanoes dot this NASA International Space Station image (with north to the upper right) taken along the Chile-Bolivia border. The snow-capped peak at the far left-center is Guallatiri volcano, and to its right are the three peaks of Nevados Quimsachata, which includes Acotango volcano. The two peaks at the upper left are Pomerape and Parinacota, with Laguna Chungara below. Nevado del Sajama in Bolivia lies at the upper right-center. At the lower right is the snow-free volcano of Macizo de Larancagua.

NASA International Space Station image ISS009-E-6848, 2004 (http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/). Colachi (left) is an andesitic-dacitic stratovolcano whose most recent activity produced pristine silicic lava flows of probable Holocene age. The largest of these covers a 7 km² area on the saddle between Colachi and the neighboring volcano of Acamarachi (center horizon). This aerial view from the west also shows the conical peak of Aguas Calientes (far right), a twin volcano of Lascar volcano, whose slopes appear at the lower right. The Talabre valley in the center foreground is partially filled by an andesitic lava flow from Lascar.

Photo by Insitituto Geográfico Militar, courtesy of Oscar González-Ferrán (University of Chile). An eruption plume towers above Lonquimay volcano in January 1989. In this view from the SW, the plume appears to originate from the summit crater of Lonquimay, but the eruptive vent actually is located on the NE flank, 3.5 km from the summit. During this eruption, which began on Christmas day, 1988, and lasted until January 1990, a new cinder cone (Navidad) was formed and a lava flow traveled 10 km down the NE flank.

Copyrighted photo by Katia and Maurice Krafft, 1989. An ash plume rises above Láscar volcano on October 27, 2002, as seen from Pozo Tres, 60 km to the NW. Minor ash eruptions had been observed on 3 occasions at five-minute intervals on October 26, producing plumes that rose about 300 m above the summit crater. On the 27th two explosions were observed; the plume from the 2nd explosion reached at least 1.5 km above the crater.

Photo by Jose Viramonte (Universidad Nacional de Salta, published in Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network), 2002. Lava flows and scoria cones of El Negrillar are shown in this 29 October 2018 Planet Labs Rapid Eye satellite image (N is at the top; the image is approximately 22 km across). The lighter area to the W of the lava flows is part of the major Holocene debris avalanche from Socompa volcano.

Satellite image courtesy of Planet Labs Inc., 2018 (https://www.planet.com/). Steam pours from vigorous fumaroles near the summit of Volcán Ollagüe. This massive 5868-m-high stratovolcano is capped by a large dacitic lava dome. Collapse of the volcano produced a massive Pleistocene debris-avalanche deposit that extends to the west. Active sulfur mines on the upper western and southern flanks are reached by a road that climbs to about 5500 m elevation. Only increased fumarolic activity has been recorded at Ollagüe during historical time.

Photo by Oscar González-Ferrán (University of Chile). Tolguaca volcano, the snow-capped peak at the left, is a late-Pleistocene to Holocene stratovolcano located immediately NW of Lonquimay volcano. The cinder cone at the right in this view from the SE is the Navidad cone on the NE flank of Lonquimay, which formed during an eruption in 1989. The 2806-m-high Tolguaca is older than its neighbor Lonquimay. It is dissected by glaciers and only fumarolic activity has occurred during historical time. Flank vents are oriented NW-SE, in line with Lonquimay, and SW-NE-trending vents occur on the south flank.

Photo by Norm Banks, 1990 (U.S. Geological Survey). Arintica (left) and Puquintica volcanoes are reflected in the Salar de Surire. Volcán Arintica is the central and most prominent cone of a large volcanic complex that rises north of the Salar de Surire. The volcanoes are extensively dissected, but the latest activity at 5597-m-high Arintica produced a possible postglacial lava flow from a relatively well-preserved summit crater that descended the SE flank, but the age of the volcano is not known precisely. Cerro Puquintica (Poquentica) is considerably older than Arintica and rises to 5760 m.

Photo by Eduardo Bascuñán, 2005. 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). Snow-capped Licancabur volcano rises to the east beyond a Pliocene rhyolitic pyroclastic-flow deposit in the foreground from the Chaxas lava dome. Block lava flows from Licancabur have traveled as far as 12 km from the summit crater.

Photo courtesy of Oscar González-Ferrán (University of Chile). Multiple craters truncate the summit of Láscar volcano (left of center), and prominent lava flow levees are visible on its western flank. To the east is the symmetrical cone of Láscar's higher twin volcano, Aguas Caliente (right of center), with its smaller circular summit crater that contains a shallow lake. The most recent activity at this E-W-trending volcanic chain originated from Láscar volcano and continued into historical time.

NASA Landsat image, 1999 (courtesy of Hawaii Synergy Project, Univ. of Hawaii Institute of Geophysics & Planetology). The 10-km-long, E-W-trending ridge that forms the broad summit of 6176-m-high Aucanquilcha stratovolcano consists of several overlapping volcanic edifices. This view overlooks the southern flank of Aucanquilcha from Puquois. The world's highest mine and permanent human habitation is located at the summit region of Aucanquilcha. No historical eruptions are known from Cerro Aucanquilcha, but postglacial lava flows overlie moraines on the upper southern flanks.

Photo by Erik Klemetti, 2000 (Oregon State University). A road leads to a sulfur mine near the summit of 5890-m-high Putana volcano. Active fumaroles can be seen above several vents in the hydrothermally altered summit region. The main edifice was constructed primarily by lava effusion, with late-stage eruptions producing an accumulated pile of short, thick lava flows. Flank vents have also emitted fresh-looking lava flows.

Copyrighted photo by Katia and Maurice Krafft, 1983. The Puyehue-Cordón Caulle volcanic complex forms the horizon in this view looking north across the Río Gol Gol valley from the Antillanca volcano group. Flat-topped 2236-m-high Puyehue volcano (right) is a late-Pleistocene to Holocene basaltic-to-rhyolitic stratovolcano constructed above a 5-km-wide caldera and capped by a 2.4-km-wide summit caldera. Historical eruptions originally attributed to Puyehue are now known to be from the Cordón Caulle rift zone, the long snow-covered ridge that extends across the photo to the left of Puyehue.

Photo by Klaus Dorsch, 2001 (University of Munich). The Puyehue-Cordón Caulle volcanic complex spans 120 km² across this March 2021 Planet Labs satellite image monthly mosaic (N is at the top) with the 2.4-km-wide Puyehue caldera to the E, the Cordillera Nevada caldera near the center, and the Cordón Caulle fissure system to the W. The darker 2011-2012 Cordón Caulle obsidian lava flows extend up to around 3 km from the vents. Older fissure ridges are visible in the western segment.

Satellite image courtesy of Planet Labs Inc., 2019 (https://www.planet.com/). Light-colored rhyodacitic pyroclastic-flow deposits blanket El Solo volcano in the Ojos del Salado area. Snow partially mantles the summit of El Solo, a stratovolcano composed of nine eruptive centers located west of Nevados del Ojos de Salado and SE of Tres Cruces volcano. The 6190-m-high El Solo volcano was the source of major pyroclastic-flow deposits erupted during the Holocene that thickly fill adjacent valleys.

Photo courtesy of Oscar González-Ferrán (University of Chile). Volcán Putana, seen here from the NW, is part of large, roughly N-S-trending volcanic complex that was formed almost exclusively by lava effusion. Vigorous fumarolic activity is visible for many km from the summit of Putana volcano and sulfur is mined in the summit region. The main edifice consists of accumulated postglacial lava flows mantling an older pre-Holocene volcano. The youngest lava flows are viscous and rarely extend more than 3 km. Little is known of the eruptive history of this volcano.

Copyrighted photo by Katia and Maurice Krafft, 1983. The Olca-Paruma volcanic complex, seen here from the west, forms a 15-km-long E-W ridge forming the border between Chile and Bolivia and is comprised of several stratovolcanoes with Holocene lava flows. Volcán Olca lies near the western end of the complex. It is flanked to the east by Volcán Paruma, which is immediately west of the higher pre-Holocene Cerro Paruma volcano, the conical peak in the background. Volcán Paruma has been the source of conspicuous fresh lava flows and has displayed persistent fumarolic activity in recent years.

Photo by José Naranjo, 2001 (Servico Nacional de Geologica y Mineria). The snow-capped modern summit of 2979-m-high Antuco volcano rises above the rim of a large horseshoe-shaped caldera, whose WNW rim forms the flat ridge just above the snow line. The caldera was formed by collapse of an older Antuco volcano at the beginning of the Holocene. The 1-km-high modern cone subsequently grew at the head of the scarp. Eruptions from both summit and flank vents have occurred during the 19th and 20th centuries.

Photo by Norm Banks, 1990 (U.S. Geological Survey). The Cerro la Torta lava dome formed on the western flank of Cerros de Tocorpuri around 34 ka, shown in this 5 November 2019 Sentinel-2 satellite image (N is at the top). The N-S length of the dome is 4 km with an areal extent of 12 km², and a 4.7 km³ volume. The complex is located along the Chile-Bolivia border.

Satellite image courtesy of Copernicus Sentinel Data, 2019. A somewhat fanciful sketch depicts visitors fleeing a small phreatic explosion from a vent in the summit crater of Antuco volcano on March 1, 1839. Historical eruptions of Antuco have been recorded since the middle of the 18th century. All historical activity has consisted of mild-to-moderate explosive eruptions, with the exception of a flank eruption during 1852-53 that produced a lava flow.

From the collection of Maurice and Katia Krafft. This impact crater, 6 m wide and 1.5 m deep was produced by ejection of a 1.5 cu m ballistic block that traveled 5 km from the summit crater of Láscar (out of view to the right). An explosive eruption on February 20, 1990 destroyed 10-30% of the summit crater lava dome that had been emplaced in 1989 and produced an 18-km-high ash cloud. Aguas Calientes volcano rises on the horizon.

Photo by Oscar González-Ferrán, 1990 (University of Chile). The snow-mantled surface of Llullaillaco volcano is seen in this NASA International Space Station image (with north to the upper left). The two youthful looking lava flows with prominent flow levees descending the northern and western flanks of the volcano appeared to be of Holocene, but Ar/Ar dating showed them to be of late-Pleistocene age. Llullaillaco is the world's highest historically active volcano.

NASA International Space Station image ISS006-E-13814, 2003 (http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/). Amalia Glacier flows around the northern flank of Reclus in the Southern Patagonia Ice Field, shown in this 27 February 2018 PlanetScope satellite image (N is at the top; this image is approximately 8 km across). The flanks are heavily eroded and there is a landslide deposit from the northern flank on the glacier surface.

Satellite image courtesy of Planet Labs Inc., 2018 (https://www.planet.com/). An eruption plume rises above Navidad (Christmas) cone on the NE flank of Lonquimay volcano (left center) on January 15, 1989. The eruption began on Christmas day, 1988, and lasted over a year. A 200-m-high cinder cone was formed and a lava flow that originated from Navidad cone traveled 10 km down the NE flank. Neighboring Tolguaca volcano appears at the left in this view from the WSW.

Photo by Hugo Moreno, 1989 (University of Chile). An eruption plume rises above Lascar on 18 April 2006 as photographed from El Abra copper mine, 220 km NW. The plume rose a maximum height of about 10 km. Intermittent ash eruptions continued until July 2007.

Image courtesy of employees at the El Abra copper mine, 2006. A field of fresh-looking, unvegetated lava flows blankets the SW flank of Osorno volcano. Prominent flow levees mark channels of individual flow lobes. Some of these lava flows were erupted from cinder cones on the SSW flank of Osorno in 1835. Explosive activity beginning on November 29, 1834 was followed by lava effusion starting January 19, 1835 that lasted until the end of February.

Photo by Hugo Moreno (University of Chile). Parinacota is the larger of the two main edifices in this November 2019 Planet Labs satellite image monthly mosaic (N is at the top; this image is approximately 23 km across). With Pomerape to the NE, together they form the Nevados de Payachata group along the Chile-Bolivia border. The group of lakes to the SW formed within a debris avalanche deposit about 8,000 years ago that is more than 22 km long with a volume of 6 km³. The current cone formed over the resulting scarp and older edifice, and has a summit crater around 650 m wide. Lava flows are visible on all flanks, with some flows emplaced around the debris avalanche deposit hummocks.

Satellite image courtesy of Planet Labs Inc., 2019 (https://www.planet.com/). The western side of the Sairecábur volcanic complex is seen with thick, blocky lava flows in the foreground. This chain of andesitic-dacitic volcanoes along the Chile-Bolivia border contains at least 10 postglacial centers and stretches from Escalante volcano on the north to Sairecábur volcano on the south. The highest peak, Sairecábur, is located on the northern margin of a 4.5-km-wide caldera. An active sulfur mine is located north of the volcano. Escalante has a crater lake at its summit and youthful lava flows on its flanks.

Photo by Raphaél Paris, 2004 (CNRS, Clermont-Ferrand). A vigorous steam plume rises from the summit ridge of Volcán Guallatiri, one of northern Chile's most active volcanoes. The ice-clad stratovolcano is seen here from the north and lies at the SW end of the Nevados de Quimsachata volcano group. The 6071-m-high Guallatiri is capped by a central dacitic dome or lava complex, with the active vent situated at its southern side. Minor explosive eruptions have been reported from Guallatiri since the beginning of the 19th century, and intense fumarolic activity continues.

Photo by Oscar González-Ferrán (University of Chile). The dramatic summit spire of Corcovado volcano is seen in this telephoto view from the west from the town of Quellon on the island of Chiloe. The volcano rises across the Gulf of Corcovado, which lies beyond the ridge in the middle distance. The main edifice at Corcovado is likely Pleistocene in age, but historical eruptions have been reported, probably from Holocene cinder cones surrounding the volcano.

Photo by Bryan Freeman, 2005. The roughly 20-km-wide Huequi Peninsula extends about 40 km into the Gulf of Ancud in southern Chile. Volcán Huequi is a small, glacier-free volcano located just to the right of the center of this NASA International Space Station image (with north to the upper left). A parasitic cone is located on the west side of the 1318-m-high basaltic-andesite volcano, which has an 800-m-wide crater. Explosive eruptions were recorded during the 19th and 20th centuries, initially in 1890 and most recently in about 1920.

NASA International Space Station image ISS008-E-12502, 2004 (http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/). Waves lap against the northern coast of Easter island. This view looks from Obahe to Mahatua with Volcán Poike, a shield volcano forming the eastern tip of the island, on the horizon. The trachytic lava domes of Tea-Tea are the small peaks on the left horizon. The triangle-shaped Easter Island, renowned for its dramatic megalithic statues of hand-carved basalt, sits atop the Sala y Gómez submarine ridge, which trends eastward from the East Pacific Rise. The island is composed of three principal volcanoes, Poike, Rano Kau, and Terevaka.

Photo by Oscar González-Ferrán (University of Chile). Snow-capped Lanín volcano rises to the SSW above the Chile/Argentina border. A grove of distinctive Araucaria trees ("monkey puzzle trees") occupy the foreground. These distinctive trees are one of Chile's most renowned conifers and are confined to restricted areas in the Andes. Fossils reveal that this genus was once extremely widespread, leaving behind petrified woods in Arizona and amber deposits around the globe. The Auracaria occurs today only in Chile, one small region in Brazil, a few places in Australia, and New Caledonia.

Photo by Lee Siebert, 2004 (Smithsonian Institution). Cerro la Torta, the flat-topped ridge on the horizon, is a Holocene dacitic lava dome on the western side of Cerros de Tocorpuri volcano. Because of its distinctive shape, the dome is referred to locally by the Spanish word for cake (torta). Cerro la Torta, seen here from the west, is a roughly 5 cu km circular dome with a flat surface wrinkled by flow ridges and steep, 150-m-high talus-covered flanks. Emplacement of the 5090-m-high dome began with minor explosive activity, but slow lava extrusion was dominant.

Copyrighted photo by Katia and Maurice Krafft, 1983. The symmetrical Licancabur stratovolcano (left) rises above a basement of rhyodacitic ignimbrites and dacitic lava domes. A small 80-m-wide lake, one of the world's highest, occupies its 400-m-wide summit crater. Archaeological ruins were found on the 5916-m-high crater rim of Volcán Lincancabur. Young lava flows with prominent levees extend up to 6 km down the NW-to-SW flanks of the volcano.

Photo by Oscar González-Ferrán (University of Chile). Cuernos del Diablo is a small 1862-m-high partially glacially eroded basaltic stratovolcano. The volcano (not clearly seen in this NASA Landsat image with north to the top) is located about 30 km east of the elongated N-S trending Reloncavi fjord (far left), near the headwaters of the river extending diagonally to the center of the image from the lower left. Numerous satellitic pyroclastic cones and associated basaltic lava flows were formed during the Holocene, some which may have historical in age, though eruptions were not recorded.

NASA Landsat 7 image (worldwind.arc.nasa.gov) The Nevados de Payachata volcanic group in northern Chile, seen here from the west, consists of the symmetrical, 6348-m-high Parinacota volcano (right) and its older twin volcano, Pleistocene 6222-m-high Pomerape volcano (left). The young cone of Parinacota post-dates collapse of an older edifice about 8000 years ago. The most recent activity at Parinacota produced a series of fresh-looking lava flows from satellitic cones on the south and SW flanks.

Photo by Oscar González-Ferrán (University of Chile). The lava flow with prominent lateral levees extending from the far left (eastern) side of the summit crater of Láscar is the Tumbres-Talabre lava flow. This flow was erupted about 7100 years ago and descended 8 km down the NW flank of the volcano. The distal part of the lava flow is overlain by light-colored pyroclastic-flow deposits in the foreground that originated during an eruption on April 19, 1993. Another steep-sided viscous lava flow with pronounced lateral levees is visible in the center of the photo.

Photo by Carlos Felipe Ramírez, 1993 (courtesy of Oscar González-Ferrán, University of Chile). Conical Volcán Chiliques (left) and Volcan Miscanti (right) rise to the NE above Laguna Miscanti. The 5778-m-high summit of Chiliques contains a 500-m-wide crater, and some youthful lava flows may be of Holocene age. This volcano had previously been considered to be dormant; however, in 2002 a NASA nighttime thermal infrared ASTER satellite image showed low-level hot spots in the summit crater and upper flanks. Miscanti volcano is of probable late-Pleistocene age.

Photo by Jos Offermans, 2008. óAn explosive eruption lasting three weeks began on February 9, 1991 from a 200-m-wide crater between Planchon and Peteroa. This photo shows an ash plume rising from the crater on February 11. Ashfall occurred as far as 70 km from the crater. Fish in the Claro and Teno rivers were killed and water supplies were contaminated by tephra and water ejected from the crater lake.

Photo by Moyra Gardeweg, 1991 (Servicio Nacional de Geología y Minería, Chile). Quetrupillan stratovolcano is seen in this NASA International Space Station image with north to the upper right. The volcano was constructed within a large 7 x 10 km wide caldera. The 2360-m-high Quetrupillan volcano has produced more silicic lavas than its more prominent neighbors Villarrica and Lanín. Clusters of monogenetic vents, including lava domes and pyroclastic cones, are found on the southern side of the volcano.

NASA International Space Station image ISS006-E-40424, 2003 (http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/). The world's highest Holocene volcano, Nevados Ojos del Salado, rises to 6887 m along the border between Chile and Argentina. The summit complex, which is elongated in a NE-SW direction, is seen here from the NW. The massive volcanic complex contains numerous craters, cones, and andesitic and dacitic lava domes. No historical eruptions have been recorded, but the volcano is fumarolically active.

Photo by Oscar González-Ferrán (University of Chile). The snow-capped Taapaca (Nevados de Putre) volcanic complex rises to the north above rhyodacitic pyroclastic deposits in the Pampa del Muerto. Taapaca volcano rises NE of the town of Putre in northern Chile. Putre is built on top of debris-avalanche deposits from Taapaca, which consists of a dacitic lava-dome complex. The latest stage of activity during the Holocene produced the 5860-m-high summit lava dome complex (center horizon).

Photo by Oscar González-Ferrán (University of Chile). A truck bearing sulfur ore descends from Aucanquilcha volcano in northern Chile. The world's highest permanent human habitation is situated below a sulfur mine at the summit region of Aucanquilcha. Several distinct cones were built on a 10-km-long, E-W-trending ridge forming the broad summit complex of the 6176-m-high stratovolcano, which is one of the largest in Chile. Postglacial lava flows are visible on the upper flanks. No historical eruptions are known from Cerro Aucanquilcha.

Copyrighted photo by Katia and Maurice Krafft, 1983. Volcán Copahue is a composite volcano constructed along the Chile-Argentina border within an 8-km-wide Pleistocene caldera. The eastern summit crater, part of a 2-km-long, ENE-WSW line of nine craters, contains the briny El Agrio crater lake and displays intense fumarolic activity. Infrequent explosive eruptions have been recorded since the 18th century from the 2965-m-high volcano.

Photo by Hugo Moreno (University of Chile). The Nevados de Payachata volcanic group, the scenic highlight of Lauca National Park, is seen here from the SW and consists of the symmetrical, 6348-m-high Parinacota volcano (right) and its older twin volcano, Pleistocene 6222-m-high Pomerape volcano (left). Collapse of Parinacota about 8000 years ago produced a 6 cu km debris avalanche that formed the hummocky terrain in the foreground, with the colorful Llareta plant at the lower right. Hummocks in this medial portion of the avalanche deposit are about 50-100 m high.

Photo by Lee Siebert, 2004 (Smithsonian Institution). Volcán Socompa is a massive, 6051-m-high dacitic stratovolcano noted for an eruption about 7200 years ago, similar to that at Mount St. Helens in 1980. The Socompa eruption produced a massive 600 km² debris-avalanche deposit, much larger than at St. Helens, that extends about 40 km from the summit. This view from the north shows dark-colored post-collapse lava domes on the right side that have filled much of the head of the massive collapse scarp, which extends to the base of the volcano at the lower right.

Photo by Carlos Felipe Ramírez (courtesy of Oscar González-Ferrán, University of Chile). Cerro Escorial (center horizon), viewed from the summit of Lastarria volcano, is a small andesitic-dacitic stratovolcano that straddles the Chile/Argentina border. Very youthful-looking lava flows of uncertain age are seen here extending 3-4 km SW-ward over an ignimbrite deposit on the Chilean side of the border. Cerro Escorial is located 4 km NE of an active sulfur mine in older, extensively hydrothermally altered rocks, some of which are seen in the middle ground.

Photo by José Naranjo, 1983 (Servico Nacional de Geologica y Mineria). A brownish, ash-laden plume rises a few hundred m above Láscar volcano at about 1430 hrs on September 14, 1986. The plume, seen here from Toconao, 33 km NW, preceded much larger explosions on September 16. The saddle between Láscar and Aguas Calientes volcano is at the far left.

Photo by Paul King, MINSAL Corporation, 1986 (courtesy of Peter Francis, Open University). The snow-capped Cordón Caulle volcanic massif rises on the left horizon across the Río Gol Gol valley from the Antillanca volcano group in the foreground. The Cordón Caulle is a group of post-caldera silicic vents formed along a 17-km-long, 2.5-km-wide WNW-ESE rift zone extending to the SE towards Puyehue volcano, whose flanks form the far right horizon. Historical eruptions have occurred from several points along the Cordón Caulle fissure system during the 19th and 20th centuries.

Photo by Klaus Dorsch, 2001 (University of Munich). A dark-colored andesitic volcanic bomb, ejected in a plastic state with a ballistic trajectory, drapes older rhyolitic rocks. The bomb was ejected during the Ajata volcanic eruptions. Helium surface-exposure ages ranging between about 1385 and 6500 years ago were obtained from the three lava flows erupted from the Volcanes de Ajata. Note the ice axe for scale (right-center).

Photo by Oscar González-Ferrán (University of Chile). Volcán Mentolat is an ice-filled 6-km-wide caldera in the central part of Magdalena Island, across the Puyuhuapi strait from the town of Puerto Cisnes. A young-looking andesitic lava flow on the west side of the volcano may be its most recent product. Historical reports describe an eruption at the beginning of the 18th century that could refer to this lava flow.

Photo by Oscar González-Ferrán (University of Chile). Glacier-capped Cerro Capurata lies at the southern end of the Nevados de Quimsachata volcano group. Quimsachata means "three" in the Andean Aymará language, and Capurata, along with 5730-m-high Humarata at the northern end of the chain and 6052-m-high Acotango in the center, straddles the Chile-Bolivia boundary along a roughly N-S line. The 6052-m-high Acotango stratovolcano is the central and highest of the three stratovolcanoes, each of which may have been active during the Holocene.

Photo by Sergio Kunstmann-Z (courtesy of Oscar González-Ferrán, University of Chile). An eruption plume towers above Navidad cinder cone on the NE flank of Lonquimay volcano (left) in January 1989. The eruption began on December 25, 1988 along a NE-trending rift zone about 3.5 km from the summit. On December 27, the eruption plume reached 9-km altitude and lava effusion began, producing a flow that traveled 4.5 km by January 4. Advance of the terminus of the flow slowed after April 1989, but lava effusion and moderate explosive activity continued for more than a year before ending in January 1990.

Copyrighted photo by Katia and Maurice Krafft, 1989. The 4-km-wide Sollipulli caldera contains over 500 m of ice (593 m measured in 2011) and overlaps an older caldera on the left in the center of this Planet Labs satellite image monthly mosaic (N is at the top; this image is approximately 40 km across). Around the caldera rim eruptions have formed lava flows, coulées, and domes, and on the SW rim is the 1-km-wide Alpehué crater. The Alpehué geyser field is on the SW flank near the summit area and recent scoria cones are on the NE flank.

Satellite image courtesy of Planet Labs Inc., 2019 (https://www.planet.com/). Volcán San José on the far left horizon rises to the north above ice pinnacles at the Nieves Negras pass on the Chile/Argentina border. The summit of San José is formed by a cluster of six Holocene craters, pyroclastic cones, and blocky lava flows that lie within a series of elongated, 0.5 x 2 km wide nested craters. Mild phreatomagmatic eruptions were recorded at San José in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Photo courtesy of Oscar González-Ferrán (University of Chile). Pyroclastic cones and lava flows at the NW side of the Laguna del Maule volcanic center rise above the shore of the lake. This cluster of small stratovolcanoes, lava domes, and pyroclastic cones covers an area of 15 x 20 km within a Pleistocene caldera. Pleistocene and Holocene basaltic lava flows were erupted down the upper part of the Maule River valley and on all sides of the lake.

Photo by Oscar González-Ferrán (University of Chile). Snow-mantled Volcán Maca, the highest volcano between Lanín and Lautaro, rises to 2960 m NW of Puerto Aisén. This glacier-covered, basaltic-to-andesitic stratovolcano lies within a caldera and contains a summit lava dome. Five flank cinder cones and lava domes lie along a NE-trending fissure that extends 15 km from the summit. The volcano lies along the regional Liquiñe-Ofqui fault zone. Volcan Cay (far right) lies to the NE of Maca.

Photo by Oscar González-Ferrán (University of Chile). A vertical aerial photograph shows a growing lava dome in the summit of Láscar volcano on March 20, 1992. Three of six summit craters located along an E-W trend are seen in this photo, with north to the top. The lava dome (the dark steaming mass at left center) was first seen on March 4, but may have formed earlier following phreatic explosive eruptions in October 1991. Eruption plumes were visible beginning in late March. Ashfall occurred on May 15 and night glow visible May 21-23 marked the last reported activity of the 1991-92 eruption.

Photo by Moyra Gardeweg, 1992 (Servicio Nacional de Geología y Minería, Chile). Snow-covered Villarrica, one of Chile's most active volcanoes, rises above the resort town of Pucón below its northern flank. A faint steam plume drifts from an active lava lake in the summit crater. The steep summit cone was constructed within a mostly buried, 2-km-wide caldera whose dissected outer flanks rise above the tree line. Villarrica is the westernmost of three large stratovolcanoes that trend perpendicular to the Andean chain. Historical eruptions have been documented since 1558 CE.

Photo by Lee Siebert (Smithsonian Institution). 2004. The gaping crater of the 1932 Quizapú eruption (left-center) lies below the summit of Cerro Azul stratovolcano. Cerro Azul was constructed to the south of its twin volcano Descabezado Grande, where this photo was taken. Steep-sided Cerro Azul has a 500-m-wide summit crater that is open to the north. Quizapú was the source of one of the world's largest explosive eruptions of the 20th century in 1932. This eruption created a 600-700 m wide, 150 m deep crater and ejected 9.5 cu km of dacitic tephra.

Photo by Oscar González-Ferrán (University of Chile). The lava flow in the foreground roadcut is part of the Quillelhue Basalts, which were erupted from an area at about 2600 m altitude on the NNW flank of Lanín, the snow-capped volcano in the background. The lavas form a basaltic field that reaches as far as Quillelhue Lake, more than 5 km from their source. The flows are bracketed by 2170 BP date for the Mamuil Malal dacitic block-and-ash flow and a 1650 BP date for an overlying pyroclastic-flow deposit.

Photo by Lee Siebert, 2004 (Smithsonian Institution). The broad Volcán Miñiques massif rises to the SE above Laguna Miñiques. The 5910-m-high summit of the volcano is cut by three overlapping, E-W-trending craters. Larger craters, partially filled by lava domes and flows, are located west and NE of the summit of the volcano, which is of late Pleistocene or Holocene age. A prominent lava flow, not visible in this image, extends NW-ward from the summit to the lower flanks, separating Laguna Miñiques from Laguna Miscanti to the north.

Photo by Jos Offermans, 2008. The crescent-shaped lake at the top-center of this NASA International Space Station image (with north to the bottom right) is Laguna del Dial. A cinder cone named Volcán Resago, on the SE side of the lake, produced a basaltic-andesite lava flow that traveled about 3 km to the WNW into Laguna Dial. The youthful cone may have been formed during an undocumented eruption during historical time. The lake at the lower left is Laguna Valvarco.

NASA International Space Station image ISS008-E-7432, 2003 (http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/). Chile's second largest explosive eruption of the 20th century began on August 8, 1991 from a fissure cutting the western rim of Cerro Hudson caldera. The paroxysmal phase began on August 12 and was sustained for three days, producing ashfall that collapsed roofs near the volcano and fell in the Falkland Islands, 1000 km to the SE. Pyroclastic flows were mostly restricted to the caldera floor. The dark streak at the lower right-center is a lava flow that traveled 4 km down the WNW flank from the west caldera rim fissure.

Photo by Norm Banks, 1991 (U.S. Geological Survey). A lava flow descends the NE flank of Villarrica volcano in 1984. A small lava lake at the NNE side of the summit crater fed lava flows through a notch in the crater rim left by the 1971 eruption. The lava initially flowed down the summit icefield and then burrowed under the glacier. The flow emerged onto the surface on November 13, producing a 3-km-long avalanche of lava blocks, ice, and snow.

Photo by Hugo Moreno, 1984 (University of Chile). Volcán Guallatiri rises to the SSE beyond Laguna Chungará, and steam rises from a prominent fumarole near its summit. The symmetrical ice-clad stratovolcano lies at the SW end of the Nevados de Quimsachata volcano group just west of the border with Bolivia and is capped by a central dacitic dome or lava complex. Thick lava flows can be seen on its lower northern and western flanks. Minor explosive eruptions have been reported from Guallatiri since the beginning of the 19th century, and intense fumarolic activity continues.

Photo by Lee Siebert, 2004 (Smithsonian Institution). The solitary Holocene Cerro Overo maar, seen here from the south, was erupted through basement ignimbrites of Pliocene age, which form the light-colored rocks in the crater wall. A thin blanket of dark ejecta from the eruption that created the 600-m-wide, 80-m-deep maar caps its rim. Pleistocene volcanoes of the central Chilean Andes form the horizon.

Copyrighted photo by Katia and Maurice Krafft, 1983. Volcanologists on a field trip during the 2004 Chile IAVCEI conference examine an outcrop of the Caburgua-Huelemolle volcano group. Miocene granodiorites at the base of the roadcut are overlain by postglacial pyroclastic deposits from basaltic cones of the Caburgua-Huelemolle group.

Photo by Jim Luhr, 2004 (Smithsonian Institution). Strong fumarolic activity occurs in the crater where the phreatomagmatic eruptions of the past two decades took place. A dozen Holocene post-caldera craters and cones are located at the NW end of the 4-km-wide, Pleistocene Nevado Sin Nombre caldera.

Photo by Alejo Contreras (courtesy of Oscar González-Ferrán, University of Chile). Lonquimay (left) is a small, flat-topped, symmetrical stratovolcano of late-Pleistocene to dominantly Holocene age located immediately SE of the largely Pleistocene Tolguaca volcano (extreme right). The Cordón Fissural Oriental fissure zone extends 10 km NE of Lonquimay and has produced a series of vents and cinder cones that have been the source of voluminous lava flows in historical time. Major lava flows erupted during 1887-90 and 1988-90 traveled up to 10 km from their NE-flank vents.

Photo by Norm Banks, 1990 (U.S. Geological Survey). The dark streak descending the NW flank of the caldera of Hudson volcano is a lava flow that was erupted during the initial stages of the 1991 eruption. During the first two days of the eruption, August 8-9, basaltic ash and lava were erupted from a 4.5-km-long fissure on the western caldera rim. The lava flow traveled 4 km down the Huemules glacier. Ash from the August 12-15 paroxysmal eruption, which originated from a subglacial vent whose margin is just visible at the extreme left, darkens the caldera floor in this August 23 photo.

Photo by Norm Banks, 1991 (U.S. Geological Survey). A young lava dome on Isla Cook is viewed from the east. This group of andesitic lava domes and pyroclastic cones, known as Volcán Feuguino or Volcán Cook, mark the southernmost Holocene volcanoes of the Andes. They occupy a broad peninsula forming the SE end of Isla Cook and are unaffected by glacial erosion that scoured the underlying plutonic rocks. Passing navigators observed possible eruptive activity in the direction of Cook in 1712 and the eruption of incandescent ejecta in 1820.

Photo by Scott Dreher, 2005 (University of Durham). The two snow-capped volcanoes of the Nevados de Payachata volcanic group dominate this NASA International Space Station image (with north to the bottom). A prominent summit crater tops symmetrical Parinacota volcano, constructed to the SW of its eroded Pleistocene twin, Pomerape volcano. Silicic lava flows from Parinacota form lobes extending into Laguna Chungará, which was formed when a major debris avalanche from Parinacota blocked drainages. The hummocky debris-avalanche deposit covers much of the lower right part of the image.

NASA International Space Station image ISS009-E-6837, 2004 (http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/). Glacier-clad Volcán Parinacota rises to the NE above Laguna Chungará near the Chile-Bolivia border. The lake was formed when collapse of Parinacota about 8000 years ago produced a 6 cu km debris avalanche that traveled 22 km to the west and blocked drainages. Subsequent eruptions constructed the 6348-m-high symmetrical stratovolcano, which towers above late-Pleistocene andesitic-to-rhyolitic lava domes and flows in the middle ground.

Photo by Lee Siebert, 2004 (Smithsonian Institution). Forested Volcán Relicura, rising to the NW from near the Liucura Bridge, is part of four groups of basaltic cinder cones lying east of Lago Villarrica and NE of Villarrica volcano. The northernmost and southernmost groups, the Volcanes de Caburgua and Volcán Huelemolle, respectively, lie along the major regional Liquine-Ofqui fault zone. Lava flows from the half dozen cinder cones of the Volcanes de Caburgua blocked drainages, forming elongated Lago Caburgua.

Photo by Jim Luhr, 2004 (Smithsonian Institution). Cerro del León (center) is an andesitic stratovolcano flanked by two massive dacitic lava domes, Chillahuita to the SE (the circular dome to the lower right) and Chao to the NW. Chao forms the massive box-shaped dome and lava flow at the top center in this NASA International Space Station image (with north to the upper left) and is the world's largest of its type. The 14.5-km-long dacitic lava flow has distal margins that are 350-400 m high and formed in several eruptive pulses.

NASA International Space Station image ISS005-E-8788, 2002 (http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/). A dark lava flow descends the Chaillupén river on the SW flank of Villarrica volcano towards Lake Calafquén during an eruption in 1971. The lava flow overrides light-colored mudflow deposits produced earlier during the eruption, which began on October 29. On November 29 lava effusion and pyroclastic cone formation began. Three basaltic lava flows were emitted on the SW flank during December 3-20. The eruption culminated on December 29, when lava flows melted ice, producing lahars that swept the volcano's flanks and caused 15 fatalites. The eruption lasted until January 10.

Photo by Hugo Moreno, 1971 (University of Chile). An eruption plume rises from a broad crater in a tephra cone atop the new and old dome complex in this May 26, 2008 helicopter view of Chaitén from the SW. Lumpy areas on the middle to lower cone mark obsidian outcrops on the now buried older dome. Burned vegetation is visible at the bottom center along the Blanco River. A major explosive eruption at Chaitén volcano began on May 2, marking the first historical eruption of the volcano. Mudflows destroyed much of the town of Chaitén.

Photo by Jeff Marso, 2008 (U.S. Geological Survey). The dramatic summit spire of Volcán Corcovado is seen here in an aerial view from the south. Two of a string of lakes on its eastern side appear in the background. Corcovado, probably of late-Pleistocene age, is eroded by glaciers and surrounded by Holocene cinder cones. Eruptions were reported in historical time from these flank cones. Darwin observed activity from the Corcovado area in 1834, and an eruption was reported to have occurred in November 1835.

Photo by Oscar González-Ferrán (University of Chile). The 2048-m-high Mondaca lava dome (bottom center) produced a large youthful rhyodacitic lava flow that traveled north and dammed the Rio Lontue, eventually reaching 7 km to the NW (upper right). This eruption may have taken place during historical time, possibly during the 19th century. The solitary small Mondaca lava dome is located NNW of the Descabezado volcano complex and west of the Calabozos caldera.

Photo by Instituto Geográfico Militar, courtesy of Oscar González-Ferrán (University of Chile). An elongated lava flow field at La Negrillar is down the center of this 28 April 2019 Planet Scope satellite image (N is at the top; this image is approximately 17 km across). A scoria cone with a crater that opens towards the SE is visible below the center of the image. The field is located along the SW margin of the Atacama basin, W of Socompa volcano.

Satellite image courtesy of Planet Labs Inc., 2019 (https://www.planet.com/). Steam plumes rise from abundant solfataras lining the shores of the acid crater lake where the eruptive activity took place at Tupungatito during the 1960s.

Photo by Alejo Contreras (courtesy of Oscar González-Ferrán, University of Chile). The world's highest historically active volcano, Llullaillaco, sits astride the Chile-Argentina border in this NASA International Space Station image (with north to the upper right). A well-preserved summit cone was the source of prominent lava flows that are older than they appear in this image. The hilly terrain at the lower right was produced by a major debris avalanche about 150,000 years ago that swept eastward into Argentina and diverges around the north and south sides of the older Cerro Rosado stratovolcano (extreme lower right).

NASA International Space Station image ISS006-E-13814, 2003 (http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/). Volcán Nuevo, the newest cone of the three-peaked Nevados de Chillán volcano, was formed beginning in 1861. It grew between Cerro Blanco and Volcán Viejo, which anchor the NW and SE ends of the complex, respectively. Volcán Nuevo has been the most active volcano of the complex since its birth. In 1973, the year of this photo, a long-term eruption began on the SE flank of Volcán Nuevo, producing a cone that by 1987 had grown above Volcán Nuevo. Nevados de Chillán is one of the most active volcanoes of the Central Andes of Chile.

Photo by Hugo Moreno, 1973 (University of Chile). Cerros de Tocorpuri, seen here from the west, is a Pleistocene stratovolcano complex on the Chile-Bolivia border. A Holocene lava dome on its western foot, Cerro la Torta, forms the light-colored ridge at the left foreground. The circular, roughly 5 cu km Cerro la Torta was erupted from a central vent and is surrounded by a flat-topped surface with wrinkled flow ridges. The flow terminates in steep, talus-covered margins about 150-m high. Lava extrusion was preceded by minor silicic explosive eruptions.

Copyrighted photo by Katia and Maurice Krafft, 1983. 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). A vertical aerial view into the summit crater of Láscar shows a dark-colored dacitic lava dome that was extruded inside the active crater between February and December 1989. Ash eruptions had begun earlier in late 1987 and had continued in 1988. The active lava dome was observed in February and April 1989, and the dome was observed to be deflated in October 1989. An explosive eruption on February 20, 1990 destroyed 10-30% of the summit crater lava dome and produced an 8-km-high ash cloud.

Photo by Servicio Aerofotogramétrico de la Fuerza Aérea de Chile, 1989 (courtesy of Oscar González-Ferrán, Univ Chile). A panoramic view shows the crater ring of San Félix volcano, with Isla San Ambrosio on the horizon. San Félix Island, 800 km west of the Chilean coast, consists largely of a low lava platform separating two tuff cones. The Islota Gonzáles cone (right) is separated from the main island by a shallow submerged platform. Cerro Amarillo at the NW end of the island is the source of fresh-looking lava flows that reached the sea and formed the low lava platform.

Photo by Oscar González-Ferrán (University of Chile). Alternating lava flows and pyroclastic deposits are exposed in the crater walls of Tinguiririca volcano. Hydrothermally altered rocks are prominent in the lower parts of the crater walls.

Photo by Wolfgang Foerster, courtesy of Oscar González-Ferrán (University of Chile). The compound Mocho-Choshuenco volcano, seen here from the SW, is composed of two glacier-covered stratovolcanoes post-dating a 4-km-wide caldera. Choshuenco (left), was constructed during the late Pleistocene on the NW rim of the caldera. The andesitic-to-dacitic, 2422-m-high El Mocho (center), is a small cone that grew within the caldera and has remained active into historical time.

Photo by Oscar González-Ferrán (University of Chile). Volcán Yate is an upper Pleistocene, glacially dissected stratovolcano with Holocene parasitic vents. Little is known of the eruptive history of this isolated volcano, which is located SW of the mouth of the Puelo River on the Relancaví strait, NNE of neighboring Hornopirén volcano.

Photo by John Davidson, University of Michigan (courtesy of Hugo Moreno, University of Chile). Glaciers mantle the southern side of 4850-m-high Palomo volcano (left-center). The ice cover forms the Universidad (University) Glacier, which drains to the SW into the Tinguiririca River.

Photo by Wolfgang Foerster, courtesy of Oscar González-Ferrán (University of Chile). The small light-brown area at the center of this NASA International Space Station image (with north to the bottom right) is Volcán Lomas Blancas. This small shield-like 2268-m-high stratovolcano of late-Pleistocene to Holocene age is located about 15 km SE of snow-capped Nevado de Longaví volcano (right-center). A 2.3-km-wide caldera, possibly formed by edifice collapse, can been seen opening to the SE. Pumice deposits probably originating from Nevado de Longaví blanket the volcano. The crescent-shaped lake at the upper left is Laguna del Dial.

NASA International Space Station image ISS008-E-7432, 2003 (http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/). The flanks of Isluga volcano in Chile are formed by numerous lobate lava flows visible in this June 2019 Planet Labs satellite image monthly mosaic (N is at the top; this image is approximately 23 km across). The lavas have lateral levees and pressure ridges especially visible on the southern flanks. The most recent 400-m-diameter summit crater is visible at the western side of the summit area.

Satellite image courtesy of Planet Labs Inc., 2019 (https://www.planet.com/). Symmetrical Volcán Aguas Calientes, also known as Simba, is a twin volcano of Láscar. It is seen here from the south as a backdrop to Laguna Lejía, renowned for its flamingos, with the slopes of Láscar at the extreme left. Aguas Calientes is at the eastern end of a short E-W volcanic chain that includes the historically active Láscar volcano on the west. A shallow lake occupies the well-preserved summit crater of Aguas Calientes. The thick lava flows at the summit are considered to be of Holocene age.

Copyrighted photo by Katia and Maurice Krafft, 1983. The elongated NNW-trending edifice of 5697-m-high Lastarria volcano rises above pyroclastic-flow deposits that form an extensive apron below the northern flanks of the volcano. Five nested craters are found along a semi-arcuate line on the summit ridge. The youngest feature is a lava dome that overlaps the northern crater rim. Persistent fumarolic activity occurs at the summit and NW flank, and small sulfur flows 350 m long have been produced by melting of extensive sulfur deposits in the summit region.

Photo by Paula Cornejo, courtesy of Oscar González-Ferrán (University of Chile). A powerful explosive eruption from Láscar volcano in northern Chile on April 19, 1993 produced an eruption column that rose to a maximum of 17 km altitude (12 km above the vent). The violent explosion of the dome inside the active crater of Láscar generated pyroclastic flows down the NE side that reached the Bofeladas de Tumbre. Plinian explosions on April 18-20 followed phreatomagmatic eruptions that began on January 30. Small explosions continued until May 8, and another eruption occurred on an unknown day in August.

Photo by Ricardo de la Peña, 1993 (courtesy of Oscar González-Ferrán, University of Chile). The ice-filled 10-km-wide caldera of the remote Cerro Hudson volcano was not recognized until its first 20th-century eruption in 1971. The massive, 1905-m-high Cerro Hudson, seen here from the west on August 23 during its 1991 eruption, covers an area of 300 km². The caldera is drained through a breach on its NW rim (upper left), which has been the source of mudflows down the Rio de Los Huemules. The 1991 eruption was Chile's second largest of the 20th century, and formed a new 800-m-wide crater in the SW part of the caldera.

Photo by Norm Banks, 1991 (U.S. Geological Survey). Incandescent ejecta are visible at the base of a strombolian eruption column from Volcán Mirador in 1979. The eruption began on April 14 at the site of a prehistorical cinder cone. Almost constant explosive activity produced a new 200-m-high cinder cone, Volcán Mirador, and deposited ash over agricultural areas, prompting the evacuation of 125 people living nearby. Short lava flows traveled to the SE and NE in April and May before the eruption ended on May 20.

Photo by Hugo Moreno, 1979 (University of Chile). Tinguiririca is composed of at least seven Holocene scoria cones constructed along a N-S fissure over an eroded Pleistocene stratovolcano. The central part of the chain from Tinguiririca to Fray Carlos is seen in this view. Sulfur deposits are found on the western flanks of the summit cones. A single historical eruption from Tinguiririca was recorded in 1917.

Photo by Oscar González-Ferrán (University of Chile). The 26 x 14 km late-Pleistocene Calabozos caldera contains several post-caldera vents of Holocene age. The Descabezado Chico group (mid right-center) was constructed over the buried western rim of the caldera. The Cerro de Medio group (mid extreme-right) grew within the southern part of the caldera. No historical eruptions are known, but hot-spring clusters occur within the caldera.

Photo by Hugo Moreno (University of Chile). A chain of cinder cones was erupted along NE-SW-trending fissures at the head of Puyuhuapi fjord (top-center) in this NASA International Space Station image (with north to the upper left). The Volcanes de Puyuhuapi consists of a larger group of four cones on the western side of Puyuhuapi fjord and a chain of smaller cones north of the head of the fjord. The two fractures and the fjord are related to the regional Liquiñe-Ofqui fault zone. The town of Puyuhuapi lies on the western side of the fjord, about halfway down its visible length in this image.

NASA International Space Station image ISS004-E-7079, 2002 (http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/). The western flank of Acamarachi volcano is seen in an aerial view with ignimbrite deposits of the Pliocene La Pacana caldera in the background. This steep-sided andesitic volcano, also known as Cerro Pili, rises to 6046 m.

Photo by Insitituto Geográfico Militar, courtesy of Oscar González-Ferrán (University of Chile). Quetrupillan stratovolcano (left) lies at the center of a group of three volcanoes trending transverse to the Andean chain. It is seen here from the summit of Villarrica volcano (at the western end of the chain), with conical Lanín volcano at the eastern end in the background. The 2360-m-high Quetrupillan volcano was constructed within a large 7 x 10 km wide caldera; a smaller caldera truncates the summit. Some of the most recent activity produced pyroclastic cones along the right-hand flank, near the SW margin of the older caldera.

Photo by Judy Harden, 2004 (University of South Florida). Calbuco is one of the most active volcanoes of the southern Chilean Andes. The isolated volcano rises to 2003 m south of Lake Llanquihue, which is visible at the upper right. The summit ridge (center) of the volcano is the remnant of an older volcano that collapsed during the late Pleistocene and produced a 3 cu km debris avalanche that reached the lake. Subsequent eruptions generated andesitic lava flows, breccias, and tuffs that filled the scarp and were subsequently topped by an historical lava-dome complex (right center).

Photo by Hugo Moreno (University of Chile). A resident of the Chilean town of Chile Chico, 125 km SE of Hudson volcano near the Argentinian border, sweeps ash from a rooftop on August 23, 1991. One of the world's largest eruptions of the 20th century took place August 12-15, 1991. It produced heavy ashfall across Argentina, damaging airport facilities and collapsing roofs of houses near the volcano. Ash fell as far away as the Falkland Islands, 1000 km to the SE. The fluorine-rich ash caused extensive mortality to grazing animals across Argentina.

Photo by Norm Banks, 1991 (U.S. Geological Survey). 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). The composite volcano of San Pedro in the arid Atacama desert of northern Chile is one of the world's highest historically active volcanoes. The 6145-m-high San Pedro (left) is located to the west of its older twin volcano, 6092-m-high San Pablo (center). The youngest cone of San Pedro was constructed within the horseshoe-shaped crater left by the collapse of an older edifice, which produced a large debris avalanche to the west. Reports of variable reliability mention historical eruptions in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Photo by Oscar González-Ferrán (University of Chile). An ASTER satellite image from NASA in November 2000 looks down onto the summit crater of Chilques volcano. Radial gullies descend the flank of the volcano. Nighttime thermal infrared images on April 12, 2002 revealed hot spots in the summit crater and along the upper flanks, marking the first observations of historical activity at the volcano.

NASA ASTER image, 2000 (http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/). The summit crater of Llaima volcano appears in the foreground of this 1989 view looking north along the chain of Andean volcanoes. An ash plume rises in the middle distance from a flank vent of Lonquimay volcano. To its left is Tolguaca volcano, and Callaqui volcano lies farther to the north to the left of Lonquimay. All these volcanoes except for Tolguaca have erupted in historical time; Llaima is one of Chile's most active volcanoes.

Photo by Hugo Moreno, 1989 (University of Chile). The onset of a brief explosive eruption from Láscar volcano is seen here at about 1430 hrs on September 14, 1986, from Toconao, 33 km NW. The September 14 eruption produced ash clouds that rose a few hundred m above the vent for about a half hour. Similar activity on the 15th was followed by a brief, but powerful explosion on the 16th that deposited ash in Salta, Argentina, 350 km to the SE. Conical Volcán Aguas Calientes rises to the left of the plume.

Photo by Paul King, MINSAL Corporation, 1986 (courtesy of Peter Francis, Open University). Caichinque volcano forms a topographic high dividing lakes of Salar Capur (left) from Salar Talar (right). More than a half dozen vents produced andesitic-to-dacitic lava flows, with young flows descending to the NE and SE from the 4450-m-high summit. One prominent flow traveled 6 km to the east, forming two lobes extending into the Salar Talar. Other youthful looking flows traveled to the west, forming lobes extending into Salar Capur, and SSW, dividing the two salars.

NASA Landsat image, 1999 (courtesy of Hawaii Synergy Project, Univ. of Hawaii Institute of Geophysics & Planetology). Seen from the SE, Llaima volcano has a twin-peaked profile. Historical eruptions have occurred from craters topping both the 3125-m-high summit cone of Llaima (right) and the 2920-m-high SE cone (left). About 50 eruptions have occurred from Volcan Llaima, one of Chile's most active volcanoes, since its first historical eruption in 1640. Frequent moderate explosive eruptions are often accompanied by lava flows. Mudflows sweeping down the flanks of the glaciated volcano have damaged villages at its foot.

Photo by Norm Banks, 1990 (U.S. Geological Survey). The dramatic summit spire of Volcán Puntiagudo forms one of the most spectacular volcanic peaks of the Andes. The summit pinnacle, formed as a result of extensive glacial erosion, exposes the volcano's resistant central conduit. Puntiagudo-Cordón Cenizos volcanic chain lies between Lago Rupanco and Lago Todos Los Santos in the Chilean lake district. An 18-km-long fissure system with late-Pleistocene to Holocene scoria cones and small stratovolcanoes extends to the NE and was last active in 1850.

Photo by Oscar González-Ferrán (University of Chile). The large volcanic complex at the center of this NASA International Space Station image (with north to the upper right) is Cerro del Azufre. The volcano lies just west of the Bolivian border, south of Salar de Ascotán (the light-colored area at the upper right). A youthful lava dome forms a small circular area below and to the right of the center of the image, and the Holocene San Pedro-San Pablo volcanic complex lies at the left-center.

NASA International Space Station image ISS005-E-8788, 2002 (http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/). Volcán Pomerape is the northernmost of twin stratovolcanoes forming the Nevados de Payachata along the Chile-Bolivia border. The 6282-m-high Pomerape lies across a saddle from Parinacota volcano, out of view to the right. The glacially dissected Pomerape was constructed above a base of dacitic-rhyolitic lava domes. The dominantly andesitic stratovolcano is capped by dacitic breccias and is of dominantly Pleistocene age.

Photo by Oscar González-Ferrán (University of Chile). This dramatic NASA International Space Station image (with north to the upper right) is of Socompa volcano. A large horseshoe-shaped caldera breached to the NW was the source of a major debris avalanche about 7,000 years ago that extended beyond the upper left margin of the image. Young dacitic lava domes and flows partially fill the collapse amphitheater, and prominent lava flows with flow levees are visible on the outer flanks.

NASA International Space Station image ISS003-E-5375, 2001 (http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/). Lanín volcano rises to the south above a grove of distinctive Araucaria trees near the Chile/Argentina border. The beautifully symmetrical, 3737-m-high Lanín towers 2500 m above its base. The prominent shoulder area on the upper western (right horizon) and northern flanks hint at a buried caldera. The volcano was formed by dominantly effusive basaltic-to-trachydacitic eruptions at the eastern end of a NW-SE-trending volcanic group beginning with Villarrica on the west that is transverse to the Andean chain.

Photo by Lee Siebert, 2004 (Smithsonian Institution). Following minor eruptions on September 14 and 15, 1986, a strong explosive eruption from Láscar volcano on September 16 deposited ash 350 km away at Salta, Argentina. The eruption cloud, seen here at about 7:30 a.m. from Toconao, 33 km to the NW, rose to 15 km altitude (about 9 km above the vent), producing an ash column that dispersed to the SE. The plume was traced on satellite imagery to about 400 km downwind and covered an area of more than 112,000 km². The brief eruption ended on the 16th.

Photo by Paul King, MINSAL Corporation, 1986 (courtesy of Peter Francis, Open University). Snow and ice drapes the western flank of Nevado Incahuasi along the Chile/Argentina border, as seen from Paso las Lozas at 5100 m. Nevado de Incahuasi is a complex volcanic massif located ENE of Nevados Ojos del Salado volcano. Two stratovolcanoes occupy a compound 3.5 -km-wide caldera. Pleistocene lava domes are located on the west and SW flanks of the 6621-m-high Nevado de Incahuasi, one of the world's highest volcanoes.

Photo by Oscar González-Ferrán (University of Chile). An ash plume rises from Volcan Mirador, a pyroclastic cone that formed during an eruption in 1979. The Carran-Los Venados volcano group includes about 50 scoria cones, maars, and a small stratovolcano that are broadly aligned along a 17-km-long ENE-WSW trend. The volcano group occupies a low-lying area north of the Cordón Caulle-Pueyhue volcanic chain. In addition to the 1979 Mirador scoria cone, two maars, Rininahue and Carran, were formed during eruptions in the 20th century.

Photo by Hugo Moreno, 1979 (University of Chile). Ash from the 1991 eruption darkens the glacier filling the caldera of Hudson volcano. This August 23 view from the NE shows steam clouds rising from the margins of a 800-m-wide subglacial crater in the SW part of the caldera that was formed during violent explosive eruptions August 12-15. Ashfall from the eruption spread eastward across Argentina, damaging airport facilities, houses, and agricultural land. The eruption caused major mortality of grazing animals, whose food and water were contaminated by fluorine-rich ashfall.

Photo by Norm Banks, 1991 (U.S. Geological Survey). Conical Maipo volcano rises above the floor of Diamante caldera in this NASA International Space Station view (with north to the top). A series of flank vents on the eastern side of the volcano produced lava flows that give the western shoreline of Laguna Maipo and irregular outline; a lava flow in 1826 blocked drainages on the caldera floor, forming the lake. The 15 x 20 km Diamante caldera was formed during a major explosion eruption about 450,000 years ago.

NASA International Space Station image ISS009-E-7182, 2004 (http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/). This prominent fumarole is located in the summit region of Guallatiri volcano. The vigorous fumarole lies 30 m below the summit on the western side and produces a very audible "jet-like" noise. Many solfataras are located along a 300 m section of the upper west flank of the volcano, and another five fumaroles are located on the south side of the central cone.

Photo by Sergio Kunstmann-Z (courtesy of Oscar González-Ferrán, University of Chile). The sparsely vegetated pyroclastic cone at the lower right with a strip of snow on its crater rim is Volcán Apagado, also known as Hualiaque. Seen in an aerial view from the NW with the rugged snow-capped Chilean Andes in the background, it lies in the center of the peninsula between the Gulf of Ancud and the Reloncaví estuary. The pyroclastic cone lies within a 6-km-wide depression breached to the SW. The broad symmetrical Hornopirén volcano, capped by snow fields, lies to the east of Apagado at the left center.

Photo by Gerald Prins, 2008 (Wikimedia Commons). The small volcanic center with the crater outlined by snow just to the left of the bottom center of this NASA International Space Station image (with north to the upper right) is Cerro Pantoja. This eroded basaltic-andesite volcano of Pleistocene age along the Chile-Argentina border has a Holocene cinder cone on the Argentinian side. The deep blue lake at right-center is Lago Constancia, and the large stratovolcano with a snow-filled summit crater at the top of the image is Puyehue.

NASA International Space Station image ISS006-E-40413, 2003 (http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/). The cones with summit craters at the SW corner of Lago Caburgua (upper left) are the Volcanes de Caburgua. South of the lake are two areas with thicker vegetation, the northern area is the La Barda cones, and the southern is Volcan Huelemolle. The vegetated ridge across the eastern half of the photo contains the Redondo, Pichares, and Relicura cones (E to W).

Satellite image courtesy of Planet Labs Inc., 2021 (https://www.planet.com/). The late-Pleistocene Sierra Nevada in Chile has a N-S oriented glaciated ridge and a 7-km-long E-W alignment of fissure vents in the center of this Planet Labs satellite image monthly mosaic (N is at the top; this image is approximately 40 km across). Steep cliffs on the western side expose the stratigraphy of the summit area.

Satellite image courtesy of Planet Labs Inc., 2019 (https://www.planet.com/). Descabezado Grande (center) and Cerro Azul (middle right), seen here from the NW, are the most prominent features of a large volcanic field. The most active of the two large stratovolcanoes is 3810-m-high Cerro Azul. Quizapú, a vent that formed in 1846 on the northern flank of Cerro Azul, was the source of one of the world's largest explosive eruptions of the 20th century in April 1932. The eruption created a 600-700 m wide crater and ejected 9.5 cu km of dacitic tephra. The only historical eruption of Descabezado Grande took place later in 1932.

Photo by Jeff Post, 1988 (Smithsonian Institution). Volcán Putana, seen here from the west, shows vigorous fumarolic activity at its 5890-m-high summit. Snow forming a thin diagonal line below and to the right of the summit marks a road leading to a sulfur-mining operation at the summit of the volcano. Putana is also known as Jorgencal or Machuca and is part of a large, roughly N-S-trending volcanic complex that covers an area of 600 km² along the Chile-Bolivia border. Postglacial dacitic lava domes and short, thick lava flows form the main edifice.

Photo by Joël Boyer, 2006 (L.A.V.E.) Volcán Linzor is located along on the Chile-Bolivia border about 60 km ESE of San Pedro-San Pablo volcano. Linzor is seen here from the refuge at Laguna Colorada, east of the volcano. The precise age of the latest eruption of this 5680-m-high stratovolcano is not known.

Photo by Raphaél Paris, 2004 (CNRS, Clermont-Ferrand). The summit of Descabezado Grande volcano is truncated by a 1.4-km-wide, ice-filled summit crater, giving rise to its name, which means "Large Headless Volcano." The only historical eruption of this late-Pleistocene to Holocene volcano, seen here from the west, occurred in 1932 from an upper NNE-flank vent. The 1932 crater lies out of view below and to the left of the notch at the left side of the summit crater.

Photo by Hugo Moreno (University of Chile). Palomo is a small, 4850-m-high stratovolcano that is seen here from the NNE rising above ruggedly dissected basement rocks. Palomo was constructed within double calderas, 3 and 5 km in diameter, respectively. A flank cone, Andres, is postglacial in age and has produced andesitic lava flows. Palomo has erupted basaltic-andesite to dacitic lava flows. No historical eruptions are known from Palomo, although its youthful morphology suggests a very young age.

Photo by Wolfgang Foerster, courtesy of Oscar González-Ferrán (University of Chile). A lava flow in the foreground issues from the breached Navidad cinder cone on February 8, 1989, while an ash plume rises above the crater. The lava flow originated on December 27, 1988, two days after the start of the eruption from a vent on the NE flank of Lonquimay volcano, whose slope is visible at the right. The flow advanced rapidly during the first few days of the eruption, reaching 4 km by Janaury 2. It then slowed, and by the time the eruption ended, in January 1990, the blocky lava flow reached 10 km down the Río Lolco valley.

Photo by Hugo Moreno, 1989 (University of Chile). The dacitic volcanic complex of El Muerto abuts Nevados Ojos del Salado volcano on the east and NE. The summit of this massive complex contains dacitic lava domes and is cut by a 2.5-km-long depression containing a dozen eruptive centers; an additional two dozen centers lie outside the depression. Lava flows from these centers cover an area of 120 km². The summit lava domes are of Pleistocene age, but the complex is cut by ENE-trending fractures that formed during Holocene eruptions of Ojos del Salado.

Photo by Oscar González-Ferrán (University of Chile). Major explosions April 19-20, 1993 produced eruption plumes that rose to 15 to 25 km altitude (10-15 km above the summit crater). The eruption was accompanied by pyroclastic flows that traveled as far as 8.5 km to the NW, NE, and SE. Ashfall occurred over large areas as far away as Paraguay, Uruguay, Brazil, and Argentina (including Buenos Aires, 1500 km to the SE). The eruption was the largest in historical time at Láscar, ejecting more than 0.1 cu km of tephra.

Photo by Ricardo de la Peña, 1993 (courtesy of Oscar González-Ferrán, University of Chile). An eruption plume towers above Llaima volcano on May 17, 1994 in this aerial view from the west. Lava fountains are visible along a 550-m-long fissure on the upper SSW flank that fed a subglacial lava flow. Explosive plumes May 17-19 produced ashfall primarily to the ESE. Lahars and flooding associated with the eruption cut roads and destroyed five bridges along the Calbuco River. A dark-gray plume was observed on June 14 or 15, and a new eruptive episode August 25-30 produced ashfall primarily to the SE and north.

Photo by Hugo Moreno, 1994 (published in González-Ferrán, 1995). The NW rim of Diamante caldera in the center of the image rises above the caldera floor in the foreground. The caldera was formed during voluminous rhyolitic explosive eruptions about 450,000 years ago that produced ashflows that extended radially more than 100 km from the caldera, covering much of the Central Valley of Chile and extending into Argentina. The conical snow-capped peak on the center horizon beyond rugged intervening peaks of the Andes is San José volcano.

Photo by Oscar González-Ferrán (University of Chile). Collapse of the flow fronts of steep-sided andesitic-dacitic lava flows capping San Pedro volcano (background) produced an extensive apron of hot avalanche deposits that extends up to 20 km from the volcano. Volcanologist Katia Krafft provides scale beside a prismatically jointed block in this view from the west. The youngest cone of San Pedro was constructed within a scarp (whose northern wall forms the peak at the left) produced when an older edifice collapsed. The 6145-m-high San Pedro forms a twin volcano with 6092-m San Pablo.

Copyrighted photo by Katia and Maurice Krafft, 1983. The sharp-topped peak of Corcovado volcano rises above the Gulf of Corcovado as seen from the north from a helicopter near the town of Chaitén. The glacially eroded volcano is surrounded by Holocene cinder cones. The light-colored delta at the left was formed by lahar deposition during the eruption of Chaitén volcano beginning in 2008.

Photo by Jon Major, 2010 (USGS, Cascades Volcano Observatory). Antuco volcano rises dramatically above the shores of Laguna de la Laja. Edifice failure at the beginning of the Holocene created a large horseshoe-shaped caldera whose NW rim forms the ridge descending diagonally across the photo to the right. The steep-sided modern basaltic cone has grown 1000 m since then, producing fresh-looking lava flows with prominent levees that have overtopped the caldera rim and reached the lake shore in the foreground. The most recent eruptions of Antuco occurred during the 18th and 19th centuries.

Photo by Hugo Moreno (University of Chile). The major regional N-S-trending Liquiñe-Ofqui fault extends along the Estuario Reloncaví (lower right) through Ralún Bay (center) to Lake Cayutúe (just left of the top of the image). About 20 basaltic cinder cones, maars, and lava flows of the Cayutué-La Viguería volcanic field lie along this lineament. La Viguería and Volcán Cayutué are the principal cones. The former temporarily dammed the Río Petrohué, the meandering stream at the left.

NASA International Space Station image ISS006-E-42993, 2003 (http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/). The world's highest historically active volcano, 6739-m-high Llullaillaco, sits astride the Chile-Argentina border. The summit, seen here from the NE, is formed by a smaller well-preserved cone that was constructed on an older edifice dating back to the early Pleistocene. A major debris-avalanche deposit produced by collapse of the older volcano extends eastward into Argentina. Growth of the modern cone was completed with the emplacement of a series of young lava flows down the northern and southern flanks.

Photo by Carlos Felipe Ramírez, courtesy of Oscar González-Ferrán (University of Chile). Glacier-covered Volcán Minchinmávida is elongated along a NE-SW direction. The volcano has a mostly obscured 3-km-wide caldera, and a youthful eruptive center is located on the ENE side of the complex. An eruption from Minchinmávida was reported in 1742. Darwin observed the volcano in activity in 1834 on his renowned voyage that took him to the Galápagos Islands.

NASA International Space Station image ISS006-E-42260, 2003 (http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/). Ash-laden eruption plumes rise above a fissure vent at Cordón Caulle volcano on May 24, 1960 during the latest eruption of this volcano. An eruption from the southeast end of the Cordon Caulle fissure system began 48 hrs after a major tectonic earthquake with an epicenter 300 km NW of Puyehue volcano. Tephra fell primarily to the southeast. Lava flows from numerous vents flowed mostly to the southwest. The eruption lasted until the end of June.

Photo by Oscar González-Ferrán, 1960 (University of Chile). An aerial view from the NW overlooks Planchón-Peteroa, a complex volcano with several overlapping calderas. In the left foreground is the caldera wall of Planchón volcano. The crater complex of Peteroa is in the center, and Volcán Azufre lies at the upper right. Activity began in the Pleistocene at Volcán Azufre, followed by formation of Volcán Planchón, 6 km to the north. Volcán Peteroa has been active into historical time and contains a small steaming crater lake.

Photo by Oscar González-Ferrán (University of Chile). An eruption plume (upper left) rises on February 20, 1835 from a submarine volcano in Bahía Cumberland off Punta Bacalao on Robinson Crusoe (Mas a Tierra) Island. The sketch was made by Sutcliffe (1939), the island's governor; during the eruption flames were reported that lit up the island. Robinson Crusoe, in the central part of the Juan Fernandez Island group, is composed of four overlapping shield volcanoes with calderas breached to the NE. The SW part of the basaltic island consists of smaller altered cones.

Sketch in Sutcliff, 1839 (courtesy of Oscar González-Ferrán, University of Chile). Snow-capped Villarrica, one of Chile's most active volcanoes, is seen here in 1984 with a dark-colored lava flow descending its flank. Plinian eruptions and pyroclastic flows have been produced during the Holocene from this dominantly basaltic volcano, but historical eruptions have consisted largely of mild-to-moderate explosive activity with occasional lava effusion. Lahars from the glacier-covered volcano have damaged towns on its flanks.

Photo by Hugo Moreno, 1984 (University of Chile). The small snow-free crater at the upper right, above and to the right of the light-colored area just right of the center of this NASA International Space Station image (with north to the upper left) is Trolon volcano. It lies in Argentina NE of the Caldera del Agrio (lower right), whose floor contains several lakes, including the U-shaped one at lower right near the SE caldera wall. Trolon is a lava-dome complex with two summit craters and a pyroclastic cone. Snow-covered Copahue volcano (bottom left-center) overlies the western rim of Caldera del Agrio.

NASA International Space Station image ISS006-E-39998, 2003 (http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/). An ash-rich eruption column, incandescent at its base, rises above Navidad cinder cone on the NE flank of Lonquimay volcano in January 1989. Still-glowing volcanic bombs litter the flanks of the cone. Tolguaca volcano appears at the left in this view from the SE. Soon after the start of the eruption on December 25, 1988, lava effusion began, producing a lava flow that by the time the eruption ended in January 1990 had traveled 10 km down the NE flank.

Copyrighted photo by Katia and Maurice Krafft, 1989. Lava fountaining from a lava lake at the NNE side of Villarrica's summit crater feeds steaming lava flows down the north and NE flanks in December 1984. The 1984-85 eruption began in August. Following intensified activity in October, the NE-flank lava flow melted a channel 50-m wide and 30-40 m deep and produced a 5-km-long avalanche. Lava melted through the ice and flowed beneath the glacier before emerging onto the surface again on November 13, generating a 3-km-long avalanche and leaving a 150-m-long ice bridge.

Copyrighted photo by Katia and Maurice Krafft, 1984. Villarrica, one of Chile's most active volcanoes during historical time, rises above Lake Villarrica. This December 1984 view from the NE shows steam rising from the summit crater and a lava flow descending the glacier-covered flanks of the volcano. This dominantly basaltic volcano has produced plinian eruptions and pyroclastic flows during the Holocene, but historical eruptions have consisted largely of mild-to-moderate explosive activity with occasional lava effusion. Lahars from the glacier-covered volcano have damaged towns on its flanks.

Copyrighted photo by André Demaison, 1984 (courtesy of Katia and Maurice Krafft). Along with its neighbor Osorno (upper left), Calbuco is one of the most active volcanoes of the southern Chilean Andes. The summit of Calbuco, seen at the left in this view from the SW, is the remnant of an older volcano that collapsed during the late Pleistocene, producing a debris avalanche that swept NNW into Lake Llanquihue. The smooth, snow-covered summit at the right is a young, historical lava-dome complex that postdates one of the largest historical eruptions in southern Chile during 1893-1894.

Photo by Hugo Moreno (University of Chile). Snow-capped Callaqui volcano rises in the distance north of the foreground slopes of Lonquimay volcano. The dark area at the right in this January 1989 view is a new lava flow from a NE-flank eruption of Lonquimay that began on December 25, 1988. The lava flow split into two lobes, the Laguna Verde lobe (seen here) and the Río Lolco lobe, which eventually traveled 10 km to the NE. Callaqui volcano in the background is another historically active volcano of the central Chilean Andes.

Copyrighted photo by Katia and Maurice Krafft, 1989. The steep-sided Chanka lava-dome complex, also referred to as Cerro Pabellón, is the most prominent feature on the lower western flank of Cerro del Azufre. This volcano is the largest and youngest of a 50-km-long, NW-SE-trending chain of Chilean volcanoes just west of the Bolivian border, south of Salar Ascotán. In addition to the Chanka lava dome, two other dacitic Holocene lava domes were erupted along a NW-SE line east of the summit ridge. This marks the most recent activity of the Cerro del Azufre complex.

Copyrighted photo by Katia and Maurice Krafft, 1983. The NW side of Nevados Ojos del Salado volcano rises above Pliocene ignimbrites and pyroclastic deposits of the Barranca Blanca. These deposits are overlain by dacitic pyroclastic-flow deposits from Ojos del Salado. A break in slope about half way up the volcano is the rim of a somma, inside which the modern edifice was constructed. Dacitic lava flows from the summit cone periodically overtopped the somma rim.

Photo by Oscar González-Ferrán (University of Chile). Volcán Lanín is a large conical late-Pleistocene to Holocene stratovolcano along the Chile-Argentina border. The beautifully symmetrical, 3737-m-high Lanín, seen here from the Chilean side, rises 2500 m above its base. A small lava dome at the summit fed blocky lava flows to the north. A postglacial tuff ring (Volcán Arenal) is located below the SW flank of Lanín in Argentina. A younger lava flow from Lanín covers deposits of Volcán Arenal and extends south into Lago Paimún. No reliable reports of historical eruptions from Lanín are known.

Photo by John Davidson, University of Michigan (courtesy of Hugo Moreno (University of Chile). Three N-S-trending volcanoes of the Quimsachata chain rise along the Chile-Bolivia border above the SW shore of Laguna Chungará. From left to right, they are 5730-m-high Volcán Humarata, 6052-m-high Volcán Acotango, and 5990-m-high Cerro Capurata volcanoes. No historical eruptions are known from the chain, but Acotango volcano has a youthful morphology with lava flows of inferred late-Pleistocene age. Its broad summit crater is open to the north and is the source of a large andesitic-dacitic lava flow.

Photo by Lee Siebert, 2004 (Smithsonian Institution). A pyroclastic flow descends the quebrada of Tumbre, north of Lascar at 0930 hours on April 20, 1993. A plinian eruption April 18-20 was the largest from Láscar in historical time. Pyroclastic flows containing white pumice, dark scoria, compositionally banded pumice, and dense blocks from the summit lava dome traveled as far as 8.5 km down the NW, NE, and SE flanks.

Photo by Ricardo de la Peña, 1993 (courtesy of Oscar González-Ferrán, University of Chile). Planchón-Peteroa is a complex volcano with several overlapping calderas. Activity began during the Pleistocene with construction of Volcán Azufre, followed by formation of Volcán Planchón, 6 km to the north. The youngest volcano, Volcán Peteroa, consisting of scattered vents between Azufre and Planchón, has been active into historical time and contains a small steaming crater lake. Historical eruptions have been dominantly explosive, although lava flows were erupted in 1837 and 1937.

Photo by Hugo Moreno (University of Chile). The forested volcanic complex in the lower center of this NASA Space Station image (with north to the left) is Hualique (also known as Apagado). This stratovolcano is located SW of snow-covered Yate volcano (top; left of center) and occupies the peninsula between the Gulf of Ancud and the Reloncaví estuary (upper left). A 6-km-wide caldera is open to the SW. Hornopirén volcano is the small rounded brownish peak below and to the right of Yate volcano.

NASA International Space Station image ISS006-E-42995, 2003 (http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/). Aguilera is located in the southernmost Chilean Andes, within the area shown in this 8 September 2019 Sentinel-2 satellite image (N is at the top; this image is approximately 60 km across).

Satellite image courtesy of Copernicus Sentinel Data, 2019. Symmetrical forested Volcán Hornopirén is seen from the SW from a ferry approaching the town of the same name at the head of a fjord at the NE end of the Gulf of Ancud. The 1572-m-high volcano, whose name means "snow oven," lies along a graben defined by the major regional Liquiñe-Ofqui fault zone. The volcano was said to be in eruption in 1835, although no details are known. Glacier-capped Yate volcano appears in the background to the left of Hornopirén.

Photo by Jon Major, 2011 (USGS, Cascades Volcano Observatory). Volcán Macá, the highest volcano between Lanín and Lautaro, rises to 2960 m NW of Puerto Aisén. Little is known of the geologic history of this glacier-covered stratovolcano, which contains a summit lava dome and flank cinder cones.

Photo by John Davidson, University of Michigan (courtesy of Hugo Moreno, University of Chile). An active sulfur mine is located north of Cerro Sairecabur volcano. This chain of volcanoes along the Chile-Bolivia border contains at least 10 postglacial centers. The highest peak, Sairecabur, is located at the northern margin of a 4.5-km-wide caldera. Postglacial activity began south of the summit, but most recently produced a pristine lava flow to the NW. Escalante, at the northern end of the chain, has a crater lake at its summit and youthful lava flows on its flanks. Other eruptive centers have also produced Holocene lava flows.

Copyrighted photo by Katia and Maurice Krafft, 1983. 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). 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 blocky lava flow in the foreground is one of several young flows on the NW flank of Láscar volcano. The most prominent flow traveled down the north flank and extended 6 km to the NW. Láscar, northern Chile's most active volcano, has produced frequent explosive eruptions since its first recorded historical eruption in the mid-19th century. Recent eruptions have included lava dome growth in the summit crater.

Copyrighted photo by Katia and Maurice Krafft, 1983. Volcán Láscar (right) is the most active volcano of the northern Chilean Andes. A steam plume rises in 1986 from one of six overlapping summit craters capping the andesitic-to-dacitic stratovolcano, which is seen here from Toconao to the NW. Volcán Aguas Calientes (left center), an older, higher stratovolcano 5 km to the east, displays a well-developed summit crater and a probable Holocene lava flow near its summit. Frequent explosive eruptions have been recorded from Láscar since the mid-19th century.

Photo by Paul King, MINSAL Corporation, 1986 (courtesy of Peter Francis, Open University). The northern side of Lautaro volcano rises above a sea of clouds. A 300-km gap occurs between Cerro Hudson and Lautaro, the northernmost of five volcanoes comprising the australandean volcanic zone of the southernmost Chilean Andes. Glacier-covered, 3607-m-high Lautaro volcano, the highest Chilean volcano below 40 degrees south, has a crater just below its summit on the NW side, and a 1-km-wide crater is located on the NE flank.

Photo by José Naranjo, 2002 (Servico Nacional de Geologica y Mineria). The conical, glacier-clad Nevado de Longaví volcano is seen from the SE. In the foreground is a Holocene block-and-ash flow deposit. This late-Pleistocene to Holocene andesitic stratovolcano was constructed over a basement of sedimentary and granitic rocks. A small lava dome forms the 3242-m-high summit of Longaví. No historical eruptions are known, although fumarolic activity continues.

Photo by José Naranjo, 2001 (Servico Nacional de Geologica y Mineria). The ice-capped, 3164-m-high Callaqui volcano has an elongated profile due to construction along an 11-km-long, SW-NE-trending fissure. As many as 16 well-preserved volcanic craters, the majority of which are on the SW flank, have erupted along this fissure and produced lava flows that mantle the volcano's flanks. Two large, ice-filled craters are located at the summit, and intense solfataric activity occurs on the southern side.

Photo by Oscar González-Ferrán (University of Chile). The glacier-clad Melimoyu stratovolcano dominates this NASA International Space Station image (with north to the lower left). The 8-km-wide, largely buried ice-filled caldera is drained by a glacier through a notch in the NE rim. The 2400-m-high basaltic-andesite volcano is of Pleistocene to possible Holocene age and has several cinder cones.

NASA International Space Station image ISS006-E-42125, 2003 (http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/). The elongated summit ridge of Láscar volcano (right) rises above a flock of flamingos in Laguna Lejía. Láscar is at the western end of an E-W-oriented volcanic complex that includes Volcán Aguas Calientes, out of view to the right. Six overlapping craters occupy the summit ridge of Láscar. The presently active crater, near the center horizon of this photo from the SE, has recently produced explosive eruptions accompanied by growth of a lava dome.

Copyrighted photo by Katia and Maurice Krafft, 1983. The N-S-trending chain of andesitic-dacitic volcanoes along the Chile-Bolivia border just left of the center of this Landsat image is the Sairecábur-Escalante volcanic massif. Snow-covered areas are blue in this image of the chain, which contains at least 10 postglacial centers. A massive lava flow extends to the west, and a youthful flow traveled SE from Curinquinca volcano at the NE side of the chain. Laguna Verde is the left-hand lake at the bottom, NE of dark-colored Licancabur volcano; Juriques volcano to its right has a pronounced summit crater.

NASA Landsat image, 1999 (courtesy of Hawaii Synergy Project, Univ. of Hawaii Institute of Geophysics & Planetology). An ore truck dumps a load of sulfur ore at Aucanquilcha volcano in northern Chile. The world's highest mine is located near the summit of 6176-m-high Volcán Aucanquilcha. A switchbacked road leads to the sulfur mines, which are located in areas of extensive hydrothermal alteration along the elongated summit ridge of the volcano.

Copyrighted photo by Katia and Maurice Krafft, 1983. The southern side of conical, glacier-clad Parinacota volcano is seen from south of Laguna Changará, with its twin volcano, Pomerape, visible in the distance behind its right-hand flank. A complex of lighter colored dacitic-rhyolitic lava domes can be seen at the SW flank of Parinacota (middle left). The main cone of Parinacota was constructed during the Holocene primarily by the effusion of andesitic lava flows following collapse of an earlier edifice. The youngest of these flows was dated at between 1300 and 2000 years ago.

Photo by Oscar González-Ferrán (University of Chile). Volcán Cay (upper left), is located east of Macá volcano (lower right) and NW of the town of Puerto Aisén. The basaltic and dacitic stratovolcano has an explosion crater that is open to the east, and about a half dozen explosion craters and pyroclastic cones lie along a fissure trending SW of the summit. Another 10 basaltic pyroclastic cones are located along second parallel fissure 5 km to the SE that is part of the major regional Liquiñe-Ofqui fault zone.

Photo by Oscar González-Ferrán (University of Chile). A steaming lava flow, 30-35 m thick and 1-km-wide, originating from Navidad cinder cone on the NE flank of Chile's Lonquimay volcano advances down the Río Lolco valley. By the time of this 25 March 1989 photograph, the flow had traveled about 7 km. Lava effusion began on 27 December 1988, two days after the beginning of an eruption that lasted until January 1990. The velocity of the slow-moving flow front decreased exponentially with distance from the vent. By the end of the eruption the lava flow reached 10 km from the vent and had a volume of 0.23 km³.

Photo by Hugo Moreno, 1989 (University of Chile). Basaltic lava flows are exposed in the valley across the center of this January 2021 Planet Labs satellite image monthly mosaic (N is at the top; this image is approximately 61 km across). The valley is a tributary of Río Murta to the W. The flows were emplaced partly subglacially in glacial valleys cutting granitic rocks of the North Patagonian Batholith in the southern Andes. Lava flow features include columnar jointing, pillow lavas, and lava tubes.

Satellite image courtesy of Planet Labs Inc., 2021 (https://www.planet.com/). One of northern Chile's most active volcanoes, Volcán Guallatiri (right) is a symmetrical ice-clad stratovolcano at the SW end of the Nevados de Quimsachata volcano group. This view from the west includes three other peaks of the Nevados de Quimsachata group at the extreme left, Pleistocene Volcán Humarata and Pleistocene-to-Holocene Volcán Acotango and Capurata volcano (center). Minor explosive eruptions have occurred since the beginning of the 19th century from 6071-m-high Guallatiri volcano.

Photo by Hugo Moreno (University of Chile). The Tilocalar volcanic center is shown here in this 25 November 2019 Sentinel-2 satellite image (N is at the top), with Tilocalar Norte near the center of the image and Tilocalar Sur to the SW. Tilocalar Norte erupted a single 4.3-km-long lava flow while Tilocalar Sur produced four lava flows. They overlie the Talabre ignimbrite.

Satellite image courtesy of Copernicus Sentinel Data, 2019. A lava flow of the Pleistocene-to-Holocene Palei-Aike volcanic field is seen here from Cerro del Diablo. The large volcanic field straddles the Chile/Argentina border north of the Straits of Magellan. The southernmost of the Patagonian basaltic plateau lavas, Palei-Aike contains lake-filled maars and basaltic scoria and spatter cones with associated fresh-looking lava flows.

Photo by Andres Figueroa Zurita (courtesy of Oscar González-Ferrán, University of Chile). Pular is the 12-km-long volcanic ridge below the center of this 29 October 2018 Planet Scope image (N is at the top; this image is approximately 41 km across). The lava flows to the W are at El Negrillar. The edifice contains Cerro Pular at the NE end and Cerro Pajonales at the SW.

Satellite image courtesy of Planet Labs Inc., 2018 (https://www.planet.com/). The Taapaca volcanic complex rises to the NE above the town of Putre, just out of view to the left. The elongated volcanic massif consists of an initial andesitic stratovolcano and a long-term dacitic lava-dome complex. The 5860-m-high dome complex on the right horizon is part of the Holocene Putre unit, formed during the latest eruptive stage. The left-hand dome is part of the late-Pleistocene Socapave unit. A pyroclastic apron from Taapaca, including a late-Pleistocene debris-avalanche deposit, forms the foreground.

Photo by Lee Siebert, 2004 (Smithsonian Institution). Cerro Paniri volcano, seen here rising to the NE above the Río Loa valley, is a complex stratovolcano located about 30 km SE of San Pedro volcano. Cerro Paniri volcano consists of andesitic-to-dacitic lava flows and pyroclastic materials. The summit of 5946-m-high Paniri contains three craters separated by about 4 km along a NW-SE trend.

Photo by Oscar González-Ferrán (University of Chile). The small circular feature just above the center of this NASA International Space Station image (with north to the upper left) is Chaitén caldera. It is located 10 km NE of the town of Chaitén, the light-colored area along on the Gulf of Corcovado below and to the right of the caldera. This small, glacier-free, 3.5-km-wide caldera is of Pleistocene age, but has a rhyolitic Holocene lava dome.

NASA International Space Station image ISS006-E-42131, 2003 (http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/). The Falso Azufre volcanic complex, covering 387 km² at the Chile-Argentina border, was constructed largely by lava flows up to 7 km long and 4 km wide, shown in this April 2019 Planet Labs satellite image monthly mosaic (N is at the top; this image is approximately 22 km across). The crater of the Kunstmann edifice is in the upper left corner, and the eastern domes, coulees, and lava flows are to the far right. The summit region craters are aligned along a NW-SE trend to the W (the Falso Azufre edifice), and along a ENE-WSW trend on the eastern side (the Dos Conos edifice).

Satellite image courtesy of Planet Labs Inc., 2019 (https://www.planet.com/). Strombolian eruptions eject incandescent fragments above a cinder cone on the NE flank of Lonquimay volcano in the central Chilean Andes in January 1989. The parabolic arcs of individual volcanic bombs can be seen at the right in this time-exposure photograph. The flanks of the cone are colored by still-cooling ejected blocks. The cinder cone, which began forming on Christmas day 1988, was named Navidad.

Copyrighted photo by Katia and Maurice Krafft, 1989. The complicated structure of Volcán Putana can be seen in this view from the NW. The volcanic complex was formed almost entirely by lava effusion. Thick viscous lava flows have issued from both summit and flank vents. Early lava flows mantling an older Pleistocene edifice were longer, whereas the younger flows are short and stubby, rarely exceeding 3 km in length. A road leads to a sulfur mine near the summit (extreme right).

Copyrighted photo by Katia and Maurice Krafft, 1983. Erosional furrows cut outflow sheets of Pleistocene ignimbrites of the Purico Complex that were erupted from a postulated 10 x 20 km ring fracture. The light-colored dome at the top center is Pleistocene in age, but the youngest lava domes, Cerro Chascón de Purico (center) and Cerro Aspero (the small dome at the bottom center) are of Pleistocene-Holocene age. The dacitic-to-andesitic Macon stratovolcano of Holocene age lies at the SW end of the complex (far left-center). The Guayaques volcanic chain lies at the upper right.

NASA Landsat image, 1999 (courtesy of Hawaii Synergy Project, Univ. of Hawaii Institute of Geophysics & Planetology). A strong plume of steam and sulfurous gases rises above the crater of Láscar volcano prior to the 1986 eruption. Thermal anomalies detected on Thematic Mapper satellite images between December 1984 and July 1985 may have originated from a lava lake or lava dome in the summit crater, although there were no direct observations prior to the 1986 eruption. Aguas Calientes volcano appears on the left horizon in this view from the NW.

Photo by Oscar González-Ferrán (University of Chile). Vigorous fumarolic activity occurs near the summit of Ollagüe volcano, and sulfur deposits have formed. Intensified fumarolic activity was reported in 1854, 1888, 1889, and 1960.

Photo by Oscar González-Ferrán (University of Chile). The youthful-looking rhyolitic lava dome, Cerro la Torta (left of center), lies at its western foot of Cerros de Tocorpuri (or Volcán Tocorpuri), a stratovolcano complex on the Chile-Bolivia border. The circular, roughly 5 cu km Cerro la Torta has a flat-topped surface with wrinkled flow ridges and terminates in steep, talus-covered margins about 150 m high. The dome has a youthful appearance, but its age is not precisely known. Snow cover in this Landsat view is deep blue.

NASA Landsat image, 1999 (courtesy of Hawaii Synergy Project, Univ. of Hawaii Institute of Geophysics & Planetology). A night-time view of Chile's Villarrica volcano in December 1984 shows an incandescent lava flow descending the north and NE flanks and strombolian eruptions from the summit crater. The 1984-85 eruption began with small explosions and tephra emission on August 11. Renewed explosions, accompanied by lava flows, began on October 30, and lasted until February 26. Beginning in April and continuing until November 18, lava fountains and weak explosions producing minor ash were observed from Pucón, a town at the north foot of the volcano.

Copyrighted photo by André Demaison, 1984 (courtesy of Katia and Maurice Krafft). The western side of glacier-covered Monte Tronador volcano overlies rugged granitic peaks of the Northern Patagonian Batholith in the foreground. Activity at the Tronador volcanic group, which straddles the Chile-Argentina border east of scenic Lake Todos los Santos, dates back to the early Pleistocene and ended during the mid-Pleistocene. The only possible Holocene activity in the volcano group took place SSE of Monte Tronador, forming the post-glacial Fonck cinder cone and lava flow.

Photo by Oscar González-Ferrán (University of Chile). Four days into an eruption of Lonquimay volcano that began on 25 December 1988 an ash plume rises above a vent on the NE flank. Winds distribute the ash to the SE. Heavy ashfall lasted over a year, causing severe economic disruption. This east-looking view shows the ice-filled summit crater of Lonquimay at the bottom right.

Photo by Jeff Post, 1988 (Smithsonian Institution). The area around Volcán Putana is seen from the west in this sketch. Putana is part of a large, roughly N-S-trending volcanic complex that covers an area of 600 km². Vigorous fumarolic activity (depicted in this sketch) is visible at the 5890-m-high summit of Putana volcano from long distances. The main edifice consists of accumulated postglacial dacitic lava domes and flows mantling an older pre-Holocene volcano. Young dark-colored flows in this sketch descend the western flanks of the volcano.

Sketch by Oscar González-Ferrán (University of Chile). Dacitic pumice from Holocene eruptions of Nevados Ojos del Salado volcano lines the shores of Laguna Verde, NNE of the volcano. The lake lies near the Chile-Argentina border, between Mulas Muertas and Falso Azufre volcanoes.

Photo by Oscar González-Ferrán (University of Chile). Scoria cones of the Meullín volcanic field are across this May 2018 Planet Labs satellite image monthly mosaic (N is at the top; this image is approximately 8.5 km across). The field is located in southern Chile and the small cones are vegetated, many with visible summit craters.

Satellite image courtesy of Planet Labs Inc., 2018 (https://www.planet.com/). The broad glacier-covered summit of Volcán Copahue along the Chile/Argentina border is seen from the SE with conical Callaqui volcano in the distance. The lake-filled active crater of Copahue (lower center) has been the site of historical eruptions. The composite cone was constructed along the Chile/Argentina border within an 8-km-wide caldera formed 0.6 million years ago. The eastern summit crater is part of a 2-km-long, ENE-WSW line of nine craters that cuts across the western rim of the caldera.

Photo by Oscar González-Ferrán, 1992 (University of Chile). The symmetrical, 5916-m-high Volcán Licancabur stratovolcano contains one of the world's highest lakes in its 400-m-wide summit crater. Archaeological ruins are located on the crater rim. Young lava flows with prominent levees extend up to 6 km down the NW-to-SW flanks. Most of the morphologically youthful volcano was constructed during the Holocene. The pre-Holocene Juriques volcano is located immediately to the SE and is capped by a 1.5-km-wide summit crater.

Copyrighted photo by Katia and Maurice Krafft, 1983. Glacier-clad Melimoyu volcano is seen from the NW from the town of Quellon on the island of Chiloe. The volcano lies across the Gulf of Corcovado beyond the small island cutting across the image in the foreground. Two prominent horns at the summit of the volcano rise above the rim of the summit crater. The large stratovolcano has an 8-km-wide, largely buried ice-filled caldera that is drained by a glacier through a notch in the NE caldera rim. Two late-Holocene tephra layers have been documented from Melimoyu.

Photo by Bryan Freeman, 2005. The small dot near the center of this Landsat image is the Cerro Tujle maar (also known as Cerro Tucle or Cerro Tugle). The Holocene maar has a 60-m-deep crater and is surrounded by a dark-colored ejecta blanket. The maar is located SE of the Salar de Atacama, north of Cerro Toloncha.

NASA Landsat image, 1999 (courtesy of Hawaii Synergy Project, Univ. of Hawaii Institute of Geophysics & Planetology). Ice-covered Mount Burney occupies the NW part of the Muñoz Gomera Peninsula in the spectacular glaciated Patagonian fjord region of southern Chile. The volcano lies near the center of this NASA International Space Station image (with north to the left). The rugged extensively glaciated topography surrounding the 1758-m-high Monte Burney is smoothed by volcaniclastic deposits from the volcano.

NASA International Space Station image ISS006-E-41451, 2003 (http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/).

This is a compilation of Chile volcano information sources, such as official monitoring or other government agencies.