Copahue
| Copahue | |
|---|---|
 Copahue's southwest face with Laguna Las Totoras in the foreground. |
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| Elevation | 2,997 m (9,833 ft)[1] |
| Location | |
 Copahue
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| Location | Argentina and Chile |
| Range | Andes |
| Coordinates | 37°51′S 71°10′W / 37.850°S 71.167°WCoordinates: 37°51′S 71°10′W / 37.850°S 71.167°W[1] |
| Geology | |
| Type | Stratovolcano |
| Last eruption | 2013 (ongoing)[1] |
Copahue (Spanish pronunciation: [koˈpawe]) is a stratovolcano nestled on the border between Argentina and Chile. There are nine volcanic craters along a 2 km (1.2 mi) line, and the eastern summit crater contains a briny, acidic 300 m (1000 ft) wide crater lake. Twentieth-century eruptions from the crater lake have ejected pyroclastic rocks and chilled liquid sulfur fragments.[1]Copahue means "sulphur waters" in Mapuche.[2]
Copahue sits on a basement of sedimentary and volcanic rocks ranging in age from Eocene to Pliocene.[3] The modern volcano sits in a volcanically active area, with a caldera from the Pliocene, measuring 20 km by 15 km, lying to the east of Copahue.
The modern volcano became active roughly 1.2 million years ago (Ma).[3] The modern caldera formed 0.6 to 0.4 Ma, and produced large pyroclastic flows, extending up to 37 km from the volcano.[3]
The modern structure is an elongated shield volcano, with a maximum thickness of 22 km and a minimum of 8 km.[3] There have been at least six eruptions within the Holocene, with the most recent on December 22, 2012.[2] The easternmost (and most active) crater contains a crater lake with a pH ranging between 0.18 and 0.30.[3] Although the lake emptied during the 2000 eruption, it has returned to its previous levels.
On 27 May 2013, it was reported that a red alert had been issued and the evacuation of around 2,000 people was to begin.[2]
References
- ^ a b c d "Copahue". Global Volcanism Program, Smithsonian Institution. http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/volcano.cfm?vnum=1507-09%3D. Retrieved 2005-02-11.
- ^ a b c "Chile and Argentina on alert over Copahue volcano eruption". BBC News. 23 December 2012.
- ^ a b c d e Naranjo, Jose; Polanco, Edmundo (2004). "The 2000 AD eruption of Copahue Volcano, Southern Andes". Revisita Geologica de Chile 31 (2): 279–292.
Bibliography
- González-Ferrán, Oscar (1995). Volcanes de Chile. Santiago, Chile: Instituto Geográfico Militar. p. 640 pp. ISBN 956-202-054-1. (in Spanish; also includes volcanoes of Argentina, Bolivia, and Peru)
- Biggar, John (2005). The Andes: A Guide for Climbers (3rd ed.). Andes Publishing (Scotland). p. 304 pp. ISBN 0-9536087-2-7.
See also
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