Tupungatito

Volcán Tupungatito is the northernmost historically active stratovolcano of the southern Andes. Part of the Chilean Andes' volcanic segment, it is the northernmost member of the Southern Volcanic Zone (SVZ), which is one of several distinct volcanic belts in the Andes. Over 70 Pleistocene or Holocene age volcanoes make up this volcanic belt, which on average has one eruption per year. Tupungatito lies in proximity to the border between Argentina and Chile, 50 miles east of the Chilean capital Santiago. It is a group of volcanic craters and a pyroclastic cone associated with a 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) wide caldera, and lies just southwest of the Tupungato volcano. The caldera is filled with ice, and glaciers on the volcano are important sources of water for the Rio Maipo river and Santiago. Volcanism is caused by the subduction of the Nazca Plate underneath the South America Plate. Tupungatito formed less than 100,000 years ago and has had a number of historical eruptions, the latest in 1987, which were mostly small explosive eruptions. Presently, the volcano features an acidic crater lake and numerous fumaroles. Renewed eruptions could induce volcanic ash falls in Argentina and dangerous mudflows in Chile.