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| Uturuncu | |
|---|---|
| Name | Uturuncu |
| Elevation m | 6008 |
| Location | Bolivia, Potosí Department, Sur Lípez Province |
| Range | Andes, Cordillera Occidental |
| Type | Stratovolcano, lava domes |
| Last eruption | Unknown (Holocene inferred) |
Uturuncu is a high Andean volcanic complex in southwestern Bolivia notable for large-scale crustal uplift and persistent geothermal unrest. Located in the Cordillera Occidental, it lies near the Salar de Uyuni and the Laguna Colorada region, and is surrounded by extensive volcanic centers that include stratovolcanoes, calderas, and ignimbrite provinces. The edifice has been the focus of multidisciplinary studies integrating geology, geochemistry, geophysics, and geodesy by international teams from institutions across South America, Europe, and North America.
Uturuncu rises in the Altiplano-Puna plateau close to the Salar de Uyuni, Laguna Colorada, and the towns of Uyuni and San Pablo de Lípez, within Potosí Department and the Eduardo Avaroa Andean Fauna National Reserve. The volcano is part of the Cordillera Occidental and lies northeast of the Cerro Licancabur and the Tunupa volcanic fields, adjacent to the Altiplano basin and the Sajama volcanic complex. Topographically, Uturuncu reaches about 6008 meters above sea level and exhibits a summit composed of lava domes, lava flows, and pyroclastic remnants similar to features seen at Cerro Galán, Cerro Guacha, and Cerro Panizos. Glacial geomorphology around Uturuncu records interactions with Pleistocene glaciers linked to climate fluctuations recorded in ice cores from Quelccaya and Sajama and lacustrine sequences in Lake Poopó and Lake Titicaca.
Uturuncu is situated within the Central Volcanic Zone of the Andes, where the Nazca Plate subducts beneath the South American Plate along a margin that also hosts volcanoes such as Ojos del Salado, Llullaillaco, and Lascar. The region displays large ignimbrite provinces like the Altiplano-Puna Volcanic Complex and formations correlated with the Pastos Grandes and Guacha calderas. Lithologies at Uturuncu include dacite, rhyolite, and andesite similar to products from Uturuncu-adjacent centers including Cerro Panizos, Cerro Galán, and Cerro Guacha. Tectonic structures such as the Archibarca fault system, the Liquiñe-Ofqui analogs, and local ring faulting influence vent distribution and magma pathways, paralleling structures documented at Cerro Blanco and the Maricunga belt. Geochemical fingerprints show isotopic affinities with Nazca subduction-derived magmas and crustal assimilation processes observed at Incahuasi and Socompa.
Uturuncu hosts a long-lived magmatic and hydrothermal system inferred from geodetic uplift, seismicity, and magnetotelluric studies by groups from institutions including the Universidad Mayor de San Andrés, University of Oxford, and the United States Geological Survey. Satellite InSAR and GPS networks detect uplift rates comparable to those at Campi Flegrei and Long Valley Caldera and linked to deep crustal processes beneath Yellowstone and Taupo. Seismic tomography and earthquake swarms beneath Uturuncu reveal low-velocity zones akin to magma bodies beneath Popocatépetl and Mount St. Helens, while magnetotelluric surveys indicate high-conductivity anomalies similar to those imaged beneath Rotorua and Taupo Volcanic Zone. Petrological studies compare melt storage and crystallization histories to Mount Baker, Mount Hood, and Merapi, with geochronology from potassium-argon and argon-argon methods shared with research on Cotopaxi and Tungurahua.
Eruptive activity at Uturuncu is inferred from Holocene-to-Pleistocene volcaniclastic deposits, lava domes, and block-and-ash flow remnants comparable to sequences at El Misti, Chimborazo, and Rincón de la Vieja. Ignimbrites and pyroclastic density current deposits in the surrounding Altiplano-Puna record large-scale eruptions correlated with the Cerro Galán, La Pacana, and Pastos Grandes events. Tephrochronology linking distal ash layers in lacustrine sediments from Lake Titicaca, Lake Poopó, and Laguna Blanca with Uturuncu-like compositions relies on comparisons with chemical fingerprints from Lascar and Chiles volcanoes. Dating by cosmogenic nuclide methods and argon-argon places major construction and eruptive phases within Pleistocene timeframes, similar to activity cycles seen at Mount Ruapehu and Mount Etna.
Potential hazards include pyroclastic density currents, lava dome collapse, ashfall affecting communities such as Uyuni and Tupiza, and secondary lahars impacting drainage systems that feed salar basins and wetlands protected in Eduardo Avaroa Reserve. Monitoring frameworks involve international cooperation among institutions such as Servicio Nacional de Meteorología e Hidrología, Instituto Geológico Minero y Metalúrgico, the British Antarctic Survey, and the European Space Agency using InSAR, GPS, seismic arrays, and gas geochemistry analogous to monitoring at Popocatépetl, Cotopaxi, and Nevado del Ruiz. Risk assessments consider parallels with caldera unrest at Campi Flegrei, Long Valley, and Yellowstone, while emergency planning draws on protocols from the International Civil Aviation Organization and local disaster management agencies in Potosí and La Paz.
Human engagement with the Uturuncu region includes pre-Columbian pastoralism, Andean ceremonial sites comparable to those at Llullaillaco and Cerro Rico, and modern mining and tourism near Salar de Uyuni and Eduardo Avaroa Reserve. Scientific research has been led by collaborations among Universidad Mayor de San Andrés, University of Cambridge, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, and GFZ German Research Centre, producing studies in journals alongside research on Yellowstone, Campi Flegrei, and Long Valley. Multidisciplinary projects integrate remote sensing from NASA satellites, seismic deployments modeled on networks at Mount St. Helens and Mount Erebus, petrology informed by studies at Mount Baker and Merapi, and geothermal investigations similar to those at Taupo and Rotorua. Ongoing work addresses crustal inflation, magma flux, and implications for volcanic hazard management in the central Andes.
Category:Volcanoes of Bolivia