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Mount Hudson

Hudson, Cerro

Stratovolcano · Chile · 1905m

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.
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: Photo by Norm Banks, 1991 (U.S. Geological Survey). · Wikimedia Commons
Type
Stratovolcano
Country
Chile
Region
South America / Southern Andean Volcanic Arc
Elevation
1905m
Coordinates
-45.900, -72.970
Last eruption
2011
Tectonic setting
Subduction zone / Continental crust (> 25 km)
Landform
Composite
Major rock type
Basalt / Picro-Basalt
Geological summary

The ice-filled, 10-km-wide caldera of Cerro Hudson volcano was not recognized until its first 20th-century eruption in 1971. It is the southernmost volcano in the Chilean Andes, related to subduction of the Nazca plate beneath the South American plate. The massive volcano covers an area of 300 km2. The compound caldera is drained through a breach on its NW rim, which has been the source of mudflows down the Río de Los Huemeles. Two cinder cones occur N of the volcano and others occupy the SW and SE flanks. This volcano has been the source of several major Holocene explosive eruptions. An eruption about 6,700 years ago was one of the largest known in the southern Andes during the Holocene; another eruption about 3,600 years ago also produced more than 10 km3 of tephra. An eruption in 1991 formed a new 800-m-wide crater in the SW portion of the caldera.

Eruption history

Summary (VEI over time)
Click a bar to see individual eruptions
8010 BCE~7676 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?5004 BCE~4670 BCE · 2 eruptions · max VEI 64002 BCE~3668 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?2331 BCE~1997 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?1997 BCE~1663 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI 6995 BCE~661 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?327 BCE~7 · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?341~675 · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?675~1009 · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?1677~2011 · 5 eruptions · max VEI 58010 BCE5672 BCE2999 BCE661 BCE1677

Detailed timeline

  1. 2011VEI 2Observed
    2011-10-26 – 2011-11-01
    S and SE edge of the caldera
  2. 1991VEI 5Observed
    1991-08-08 – 1991-10-27
    NW caldera rim and SW caldera floor
  3. 1971VEI 3Observed
    1971-08-12 – 1971-09-18
    NW part of caldera
  4. 1891VEI ?Observed
    1891-07-02 – Ongoing
  5. 1740 (±150 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    1740 – Ongoing
  6. 860 (±100 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    860 – Ongoing
  7. 390 (±150 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    390 – Ongoing
  8. 120 BCE (±200 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    BCE 120 – Ongoing
  9. 790 BCE (±75 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    BCE 790 – Ongoing
  10. 1890 BCEVEI 6Geological estimate
    BCE 1890 – Ongoing
  11. 2250 BCEVEI ?Geological estimate
    BCE 2250 – Ongoing
  12. 3890 BCE (±500 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    BCE 3890 – Ongoing
  13. 4750 BCEVEI 6Geological estimate
    BCE 4750 – Ongoing
  14. 4960 BCE (±150 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    BCE 4960 – Ongoing
  15. 8010 BCEVEI ?Geological estimate
    BCE 8010 – Ongoing

External links

⚠ For reference only. Not for emergency response.