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Nevados de Chillán

Chillan, Nevados de

Stratovolcano · Chile · 3180m

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.
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: Photo by Hugo Moreno, 1973 (University of Chile). · Wikimedia Commons
Type
Stratovolcano
Country
Chile
Region
South America Volcanic Regions / Southern Andean Volcanic Arc
Elevation
3180m
Coordinates
-36.868, -71.378
Last eruption
2022
Tectonic setting
Subduction zone / Continental crust (> 25 km)
Landform
Composite
Major rock type
Andesite / Basaltic Andesite
Geological summary

The compound volcano of Nevados de Chillán is one of the most active of the Central Andes. Three late-Pleistocene to Holocene stratovolcanoes were constructed along a NNW-SSE line within three nested Pleistocene calderas, which produced ignimbrite sheets extending more than 100 km into the Central Depression of Chile. The dominantly andesitic Cerro Blanco (Volcán Nevado) stratovolcano is located at the NW end of the massif. Volcán Viejo (Volcán Chillán), which was the main active vent during the 17th-19th centuries, occupies the SE end. The Volcán Nuevo lava-dome complex formed during 1906-1945 on the NW flank of Viejo. The Volcán Arrau dome complex was then constructed on the SE side of Volcán Nuevo between 1973 and 1986, and eventually exceeded its height. Smaller domes or cones are present in the 5-km valley between the two major edifices.

From Wikipedia

Nevados de Chillán is a group of stratovolcanoes located in the Andes of Ñuble Region, Central Chile, and is one of the most active volcanoes in the region. It consists of three overlapping peaks, 3,212 m (10,538 ft) Cerro Blanco in the northwest and 3,089 m (10,135 ft) Volcán Viejo in the southeast, with Volcán Nuevo in the middle. Volcán Viejo was the main active vent during the 17th-19th centuries, and the new Volcán Nuevo lava dome complex formed between 1906 and 1945, eventually growing to exceed Viejo in height by the mid-1980s.

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Eruption history

Summary (VEI over time)
Click a bar to see individual eruptions
6890 BCE~6593 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?3921 BCE~3624 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?1546 BCE~1250 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?359 BCE~62 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?1422~1719 · 1 eruptions · max VEI 31719~2016 · 27 eruptions · max VEI 36890 BCE4812 BCE2437 BCE359 BCE1719

Detailed timeline

  1. 2016VEI 2Observed
    2016-01-08 – 2022-10-17
    Nicanor crater
  2. 2009VEI ?Geological estimate
    2009-01-21 – 2009-01-22
  3. 2003VEI 1Observed
    2003-08-29 – 2003-09-15
    Saddle between Nuevo & Arrau volcanoes
  4. 1973VEI 2Observed
    1973-07-16 – 1986-07-02
    Volcán Arrau (SE flank of Volcán Nuevo)
  5. 1972VEI ?Geological estimate
    1972-07-02 – Ongoing
    Volcán Nuevo
  6. 1965VEI ?Geological estimate
    1965-07-02 – Ongoing
    Volcán Nuevo
  7. 1946VEI 2Observed
    1946 – 1947
    Volcán Nuevo
  8. 1945VEI ?Geological estimate
    1945 – Ongoing
    Volcán Nuevo
  9. 1935VEI 2Observed
    1935-07-02 – Ongoing
    West flank of Volcán Viejo
  10. 1934VEI 2Observed
    1934-01-17 – Ongoing
    Volcán Nuevo
  11. 1928VEI 2Observed
    1928-11-30 – 1929
    Volcán Nuevo
  12. 1927VEI 2Observed
    1927-04-10 – Ongoing
    Volcán Nuevo
  13. 1923VEI 2Geological estimate
    1923 – Ongoing
    Volcán Nuevo
  14. 1914VEI 2Observed
    1914 – Ongoing
    Volcán Nuevo
  15. 1907VEI 1Observed
    1907 – Ongoing
    Volcán Nuevo
  16. 1906VEI 2Observed
    1906-08-06 – 1906-12
    Volcán Nuevo
  17. 1898VEI 2Observed
    1898 – Ongoing
    Volcán Viejo
  18. 1893VEI 2Observed
    1893-03-04 – Ongoing
    Volcán Viejo
  19. 1891VEI 2Observed
    1891-02 – Ongoing
    Volcán Viejo
  20. 1883VEI 2Geological estimate
    1883-01-21 – Ongoing
    Volcán Viejo (Volcán las Aguilas?)
  21. 1877VEI 2Observed
    1877-02-12 – Ongoing
    Volcán Chillán
  22. 1872VEI 2Observed
    1872-07-22 – Ongoing
    Volcán Chillán
  23. 1864VEI 3Observed
    1864-11-30 – 1865-02-03
    NW flank of Cerro Blanco (Santa Gertrudis)
  24. 1861VEI 2Observed
    1861-06 – 1863
    NW flank of Cerro Blanco (Santa Gertrudis)
  25. 1860VEI 2Observed
    1860-07-25 – Ongoing
    W flank of Volcán Viejo (Volcán Renegado)
  26. 1752VEI 2Observed
    1752-01-30 – Ongoing
    Cerro Blanco and Volcán Viejo?
  27. 1749VEI 3Observed
    1749 – 1751
    Volcán Viejo
  28. 1650 (±50 yrs)VEI 3Observed
    1650 – Ongoing
    Volcán Viejo
  29. 320 BCE (±75 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    BCE 320 – Ongoing
    Volcán Viejo
  30. 1510 BCE (±50 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    BCE 1510 – Ongoing
    Volcán Viejo
  31. 3660 BCE (±500 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    BCE 3660 – Ongoing
    Volcán Viejo
  32. 6890 BCE (±500 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    BCE 6890 – Ongoing
    Volcán Viejo

External links

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