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Socompa

Stratovolcano · Chile-Argentina · 6031m

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.
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: Photo by Carlos Felipe Ramírez (courtesy of Oscar González-Ferrán, University of Chile). · Wikimedia Commons
Type
Stratovolcano
Country
Chile-Argentina
Region
South America Volcanic Regions / Central Andean Volcanic Arc
Elevation
6031m
Coordinates
-24.396, -68.246
Last eruption
-5250
Tectonic setting
Subduction zone / Continental crust (> 25 km)
Landform
Composite
Major rock type
Dacite
Geological summary

Straddling the Chile-Argentina border, Volcán Socompa is a massive dacitic stratovolcano that lies immediately north of the only railway line between the two countries. It is the youngest and southernmost of a NE-SW-trending chain of volcanoes including Pular and Pajonales. In contrast to the latter two volcanoes, no glacial moraines have been observed on the relatively uneroded Socompa. Collapse of the NW portion of the volcano about 7200 years ago produced a 600 km2 debris-avalanche deposit that extends about 40 km from the summit and is one of the world's largest and best exposed. Undated post-collapse eruptions constructed dacitic lava domes that have filled much of the head of the collapse scarp. No historical eruptions are known.

From Wikipedia

Socompa is a large stratovolcano on the border of Argentina and Chile. It has an elevation of 6,051 metres (19,852 ft) and is part of the Chilean and Argentine Andean Volcanic Belt (AVB). Socompa is within the Central Volcanic Zone, one of the segments of the AVB, which contains about 44 active volcanoes. It begins in Peru and runs first through Bolivia and Chile, and then Argentina and Chile. Socompa lies close to the pass of the same name where the Salta-Antofagasta railway crosses the Chilean border.

Wikipedia · CC BY-SA · Read full article →

Eruption history

Summary (VEI over time)
Click a bar to see individual eruptions
5250 BCE~5250 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?5250 BCE5250 BCE5249 BCE5249 BCE5249 BCE

Detailed timeline

  1. 5250 BCEVEI ?Geological estimate
    BCE 5250 – Ongoing

External links

⚠ For reference only. Not for emergency response.