Taapaca is a Holocene volcanic complex in northern Chile’s Arica y Parinacota Region. It formed from the subduction of the Nazca Plate beneath the South America Plate. Volcanism has been ongoing in the Andes since about 185 million years ago. The largest historical eruption in the Central Volcanic Zone occurred at Huaynapina in 1600.
About Taapaca in brief
Taapaca is a Holocene volcanic complex in northern Chile’s Arica y Parinacota Region. It formed from the subduction of the Nazca Plate beneath the South America Plate. Taapaca has mainly erupted dacite, in the form of numerous lava domes, although an andesitic stratovolcano is also present. Volcanism has been ongoing in the Andes since about 185 million years ago, with an increase about 27million years ago when the Farallon Plate broke up. The largest historical eruption in the Central Volcanic Zone occurred at Huaynapina in 1600 and Lascar is the most active volcano in the region. The term tara paka is Aymara for two-headed eagle or winter bird, and Quechua for Andean eagle. It is also known as Nevados de Putre; sometimes \”Nevados de putre\” is used to refer to the volcanic complex and ‘Taapacas’ to its highest summit. The Chilean Geological Service monitors the volcano as it is a hazard to Putre, but eruptions could also impact local roads and areas as far east as Bolivia. The basement beneath the volcano is formed by several volcanic formations, including the Lupica and sedimentary Huaylasca ignimica formations and the Lauca volcanic formations. In some places, this basement is of Oligocene to Pliocene age. The volcanoes of Condoriri, Pomeracua and Larancacua lie to the north of the volcano. The volcano is located on the western margin of the Altiplano, where the Western Cordillera has developed since the Oligozoic has developed.
It lies on top of older volcanic and. sedimentary units. The majority of eruptions are documented at Guallatiri, Lascar and ParinACota. The first and the last of these three volcanoes as well as Taapacas itself are part of Lauca National Park. The volcanic belts are separated by areas where no recent volcanism has occurred. This volcanic zone features the highest volcanoes in the world, which reach elevations of 5,000–7,000 metres here. In 1994, the. Andes were considered to contain about 178 volcanoes with Holocene activity, of which 60 were further assumed to have been active during historical time. The largest volcanic activity is recorded at Lascar, which erupted in 1600; otherwise, the most edifices are remote from human habitation. The most active volcanoes are Huaynabina, Pereda, and Laranca, which occurred at the end of the Plio-Pleistocene. It was at first assumed that activity ended during the Pleistocene, but late eruptions occurred until 2,300 years ago; the latest is dated to 320 BCE. The process generates fluids that are ultimately responsible for the evolution of subduction-associated magmas when they interact with the mantle wedge above the downgoing plate.
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This page is based on the article Taapaca published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 03, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
