Lautaro Volcano
Updated: Apr 23, 2024 23:30 GMT -
stratovolcano 3607 m / 11,834 ft
Southern Chile and Argentina (South America), -49.02°S / -73.55°W
Current status: normal or dormant (1 out of 5)
Southern Chile and Argentina (South America), -49.02°S / -73.55°W
Current status: normal or dormant (1 out of 5)
Lautaro is an active stratovolcano in southern Chile. The glacier-covered volcano is the highest Chilean volcano below 40 degrees south and the highest peak of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field.
Lautaro volcano has a crater just below its summit on the NW side and a 1km wide crater on the NE flank.
Lautaro is one of the most active volcanoes in Patagonia.
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Lautaro volcano eruptions: 1979, 1978, 1972, 1961(?), 1959, 1945, 1933, 1879(?), 1878(?), 1876
Latest nearby earthquakes
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Background
Lautaro is the northernmost of 5 volcanoes comprising the Australandean volcanic zone of the southernmost Chilean Andes. Lautaro is the closest volcano to the Chile Triple Junction plate boundary. Volcanoes of the Australandean volcanic zone originated from subduction of the Antarctic plate beneath the South American plate.The volcano is deeply glaciated and rises 1000 m from the surrounding terrain.
Volcanic activity began at Lautaro volcano about 170,000 years ago and has developed in a relatively short period of time. The volcano is dominantly dacitic in composition.
Ash deposits from eruptions of Lautaro volcano were frequently visible on aerial photos taken during the 20th century, and older ash layers form prominent marker layers in ice sections of the glaciers on the Patagonian icecap.