Skip to main content
← Back to map
⇄ Compare

Chaitén

Chaiten

Caldera · Chile · 1122m

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.
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: Photo by Eric Manríquez T. (Instituto Geográfico Militar). · Wikimedia Commons
Type
Caldera
Country
Chile
Region
South America Volcanic Regions / Southern Andean Volcanic Arc
Elevation
1122m
Coordinates
-42.835, -72.651
Last eruption
2011
Tectonic setting
Subduction zone / Continental crust (> 25 km)
Landform
Caldera
Major rock type
Rhyolite
Geological summary

Chaitén is a small caldera (~3 km in diameter) located 10 km NE of the town of Chaitén on the Gulf of Corcovado. Multiple explosive eruptions throughout the Holocene have been identified. A rhyolitic obsidian lava dome occupies much of the caldera floor. Obsidian cobbles from this dome found in the Blanco River are the source of artifacts from archaeological sites along the Pacific coast as far as 400 km from the volcano to the N and S. The caldera is breached on the SW side by a river that drains to the bay of Chaitén. The first recorded eruption, beginning in 2008, produced major rhyolitic explosive activity and building a new dome and tephra cone on the older rhyolite dome.

From Wikipedia

Chaitén is a volcanic caldera 3 kilometres (2 mi) in diameter, 17 kilometres (11 mi) west of the elongated ice-capped Michinmahuida volcano and 10 kilometres (6 mi) northeast of the town of Chaitén, near the Gulf of Corcovado in southern Chile. The most recent eruptive phase of the volcano erupted on 2008. Originally, radiocarbon dating of older tephra from the volcano suggested that its last previous eruption was in 7420 BC ± 75 years. However, recent studies have found that the volcano is more active than thought. According to the Global Volcanism Program, its last eruption was in 2011.

Wikipedia · CC BY-SA · Read full article →

Eruption history

Summary (VEI over time)
Click a bar to see individual eruptions
7750 BCE~7425 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI 56774 BCE~6449 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?3196 BCE~2871 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI 51357~1683 · 1 eruptions · max VEI 41683~2008 · 1 eruptions · max VEI 47750 BCE5473 BCE2871 BCE594 BCE1683

Detailed timeline

  1. 2008VEI 4Observed
    2008-05-02 – 2011-05-31
  2. 1640 (±18 yrs)VEI 4Geological estimate
    1640 – Ongoing
  3. 3100 BCE (±220 yrs)VEI 5Geological estimate
    BCE 3100 – Ongoing
  4. 6650 BCE (±1300 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    BCE 6650 – Ongoing
  5. 7750 BCE (±200 yrs)VEI 5Geological estimate
    BCE 7750 – Ongoing

External links

⚠ For reference only. Not for emergency response.