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Cordón de Puntas Negras   »  Summary

Cordón de Puntas Negras

Cordón de Puntas Negras Photo

Country:Chile
Subregion Name:Northern Chile
Volcano Number:1505-101
Volcano Type: Stratovolcanoes
Volcano Status:Holocene
Last Known Eruption: Unknown
Summit Elevation: 5852 m 19,199 feet
Latitude: 23.743°S 23°44'34"S
Longitude: 67.534°W 67°32'3"W

Two intersecting volcanic chains, the Cordón de Puntas Negras and Cordón Chalviri, trend roughly SE from Chiliques volcano to Volcán Puntas Negras stratovolcano and SW from there to Cerro Tuyajto, respectively. The chain of small cones, lava domes, lava flows, and maars covers an area of about 500 sq km and contains at least 25 different vents. The Cordón de Puntas Negras is situated along the southern margin of the 35 x 70 km Pliocene La Pacana caldera. The pristine morphology of many of the volcanic features indicates a Holocene (de Silva and Francis, 1991) or historical (González-Ferrán, 1995) age. Small cones such as Cerros Cenizas, Aguas Calientes, Laguna Escondida, and Chinchilla have well-preserved summit craters and produced short lava flows. A distinct maar-type vent is present, as well as a 13 sq km silicic lava flow and dome complex. A volcanic center immediately SE of Cerro Laguna Escondida appears to be the youngest vent of the complex.

Global Volcanism ProgramDepartment of Mineral SciencesNational Museum of Natural HistorySmithsonian Institution

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