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| Láscar Volcano | |
|---|---|
| Name | Láscar Volcano |
| Elevation m | 5592 |
| Location | Antofagasta Region, Chile |
| Range | Andes |
| Type | Stratovolcano |
| Last eruption | 2015 (mostly phreatic) |
Láscar Volcano
Láscar Volcano is a stratovolcano in the northern Chilean Andes, notable for frequent explosive activity and prominent fumarolic fields. It rises within the Atacama Desert near the town of San Pedro de Atacama and the Salar de Atacama, and forms part of the Central Volcanic Zone of the Andes. The volcano has been the subject of extensive geological, geochemical, and hazard research involving Chilean, Argentine, and international institutions.
Láscar sits in the Antofagasta Region, northeast of San Pedro de Atacama, west of the Salar de Atacama, and south of the border with Bolivia. It occupies terrain within the Altiplano-Puna volcanic complex and lies near regional features including the Llullaillaco Volcano, Licancabur, and the cratered plateaus of the Puna de Atacama. The volcano dominates local watersheds feeding ephemeral streams toward the Salar de Atacama and is accessible from the regional center of Antofagasta, Chile and the tourist hub of Calama. Láscar's setting is influenced by the subduction of the Nazca Plate beneath the South American Plate along the Peru–Chile Trench, which drives volcanism across the Central Volcanic Zone and affects nearby volcanic systems such as Ojos del Salado and Llullaillaco.
Láscar is a composite stratovolcano constructed of andesitic to dacitic lava flows, pyroclastic deposits, and domes. The edifice overlies Tertiary volcanic and sedimentary units and is situated on a crustal block modified by regional faulting including segments of the Atacama Fault system. Its morphology includes nested craters, an active summit crater complex, and flank domes; the summit crater hosts persistent fumarolic fields and sulfur deposits reminiscent of those at Nevado del Ruiz and El Chichón. Láscar's magmas record affinities with adakitic and calc-alkaline suites seen elsewhere in the Central Volcanic Zone, and mineral assemblages contain plagioclase, hornblende, orthopyroxene, and amphibole similar to assemblages described for Lascar's neighboring volcanoes such as Lascar's neighboring volcanoes.
Láscar's eruptive chronology includes frequent phreatomagmatic and magmatic explosive events spanning the late Pleistocene to the Holocene. Notable 20th and 21st-century eruptions occurred in 1984, 1993–1994, 2006, 2007, and 2015, producing ash plumes that impacted Potosí, Salta, Antofagasta, Chile, and San Pedro de Atacama and disrupting aviation routes serving Santiago, Buenos Aires, and international flights to and from Cusco. Historical activity has produced widespread tephra layers correlated with regional paleoclimate and sedimentary records in the Altiplano, and tephrochronology links some deposits to distal ash layers found in lakes and ice cores from Tierra del Fuego and the Andean glaciers. Eruptions have included dome growth and collapse, pyroclastic density currents analogous to those at Mount St. Helens and Nevado del Ruiz, and sustained fumarolic emissions comparable to Copahue.
Láscar is monitored by the Servicio Nacional de Geología y Minería (SERNAGEOMIN), the Observatorio Volcanológico de los Andes del Sur (OVDAS), and international research groups from institutions such as the Universidad de Chile, the University of Cambridge, and the Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanism Program. Instrumentation includes seismic networks, ground deformation GPS stations, gas emission analyzers, and remote sensing via satellites operated by agencies like NASA and the European Space Agency. Primary hazards include ashfall affecting communities such as San Pedro de Atacama and mining operations near Calama, ash clouds hazardous to aircraft using corridors between Santiago and Lima, pyroclastic flows, and lahars in rare precipitation events that could impact drainage toward the Salar de Atacama. Hazard mapping and early warning systems coordinate with regional civil protection agencies and with mining firms including operators in the Chuquicamata and Escondida regions.
Láscar's eruptions have affected indigenous communities of the Atacameños, colonial-era settlements, and modern urban centers; tephra layers appear in archaeological sites linked to cultures such as the Atacameño people and paleobotanical records used by researchers at institutions like the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. Scientific study has focused on petrology, eruption dynamics, gas chemistry, and hazard mitigation, engaging groups from the Instituto Geofísico del Perú, CONICYT, and international laboratories at the Max Planck Institute and the US Geological Survey. Research has produced improved models of explosive eruption triggering, magma ascent, and the role of hydrothermal systems in generating phreatic eruptions, with publications in journals coordinated through organizations such as the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior (IAVCEI).
Although Láscar lies within the hyperarid Atacama, its slopes and nearby wetlands support specialized biota including high-elevation lichens, puna grasses, and fauna such as the vicuña, Andean fox, and migratory bird species visiting the Salar de Atacama and adjacent lagoons. Volcanic soils and fumarolic mineralization create microhabitats for extremophile microorganisms studied by teams from the University of Tokyo and the NASA Ames Research Center interested in astrobiology analogues to Mars and Europa. Environmental concerns include ash deposition impacts on water resources feeding the Salar de Atacama and on air quality affecting tourism in San Pedro de Atacama and heritage sites like the archaeological remains associated with the Atacameño culture.
Category:Volcanoes of Antofagasta Region Category:Stratovolcanoes Category:Central Volcanic Zone