Uturuncu Volcano
A team recently mapped the inside of Bolivia’s Uturuncu volcano and found that its strange surface motions come from hot fluids and gases moving below the crater, not rising magma ready to erupt.
About Uturuncu Volcano
- Location: Uturuncu is a dormant stratovolcano located in the Sur Lípez Province, southwestern Bolivia, within the Andes Mountains.
- Height: It stands at about 6,008 meters (19,711 feet), making it the tallest mountain in the southern part of Bolivia.
- Structure: The volcano has two summit peaks about 1 km apart, separated by a saddle at 5,700 meters elevation. It consists of lava domes and lava flows, predominantly andesitic to dacitic.
- Volcano type: Stratovolcano with a complex of lava domes and lava flows, with a total volume estimated between 50 and 85 cubic kilometers.
- Last eruption: Approximately 250,000 years ago, so it is currently dormant.
- Geology: Part of the Altiplano-Puna volcanic complex, underlain at around 10-20 km depth by the Altiplano-Puna Magma Body, one of the largest known active magma bodies on Earth.
- Surface deformation: The volcano's surface shows unusual uplift centered about 5 km west of the summit, surrounded by a ring of subsidence, forming a "sombrero" deformation pattern spanning about 70 km diameter.
- Seismicity: Persistent seismic activity occurs, with 3-4 earthquakes daily and occasional earthquake swarms up to magnitude 3.7, mostly below the summit around sea level depth.
- Hydrothermal activity: There are fumarole fields near the summit with sulfur emissions and hydrothermal alteration, with temperatures up to 80°C, and hot springs on the NW flanks.
- Scientific interest: Increased scientific study since early 2000s due to ground deformation and seismicity, despite the volcano being dormant for a long time.
- Magmatic system: The deformation and seismic activity indicate a magmatic origin of uplift from magma storage or fluid movement at depth rather than imminent eruption.
This comprehensive overview covers its geography, geology, activity status, and recent scientific findings about Uturuncu Volcano's current behavior and significance.
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