The volcano is visible in the upper center portion of the photo, which was taken from the summit of
Ollagüe volcano.
Salar de Ascotán (left) and
Salar de Carcote (right) are also visible in the photo.
13 October 1977 - José Ambrus and Jaime Sepúlveda (Chile)[2][3]
Palpana (from pparpana, ram[4]) is a
volcano in the
Andes of
Chile. It has a summit elevation of 6,040 metres (19,820 ft).[5][a][b]
It is part of the dividing range between Upper
Loa River basin and
Salar de Ascotán basin. Together with
Inacaliri and
Azufre, it forms a 50 kilometres (31 mi) long volcanic chain constructed along the Inacaliri lineament.[12] The volcano rises above an
ignimbrite plain that in the area reaches an altitude of 3,700 metres (12,100 ft)[13] and forms a chain of volcanoes with
Inacaliri.[14]
A 1.3 by 1.8 kilometres (0.81 mi × 1.12 mi) wide crater surmounts the volcano and features late
lava domes.[15] A lava dome cluster is recognizable in the central sector of the volcano, forming a flat area with a surface of 4.7 square kilometres (1.8 sq mi). The volcano contains
basaltic rocks with an extrusion formed from more silicic rock. Layers of
maficandesite,
scoria and some
pumice extend outwards away from the central sector. The volcano rises 6,023 metres (19,760 ft) above its terrain and its average summit slope is 26°. The western flank underwent a collapse, leaving a 2.9 kilometres (1.8 mi) wide and 5.9 kilometres (3.7 mi) long scar and a deposit at the volcano's foot.
Olivine and
plagioclasephenocrysts are found in the andesites, the overall
SiO2 content is 57.6-58.9% in samples from the southern ridge.[16][13][17][18] The volcano probably formed in a short timespan, given the mountainous composition and form.[19]Normal faults have affected the area.[20]
Palpana from the east
The volcano is no more than 1-2
mya old, but there is no evidence of postglacial material and erosion has carved radial ridges into the volcano.[16][20] Precise dating methods performed on the southeastern flank have found ages of 3.65±0.15 mya and 3.81±0.30 for lavas and scoria.[19] The
snowline altitude in the area is 5,900–6,000 metres (19,400–19,700 ft)[21] Four
moraine stages are found on the mountain, with the lowest moraines on the southern flank at 4,200 metres (13,800 ft) altitude.[13] Nowadays,
block glaciers have been identified in the area,[22] one of which is found at 5,300 metres (17,400 ft).[13] The mountain is also one of the headwaters of the
Loa River,[23] and water was transferred from Palpana to Antofagasta by pipeline.[24] A minor vegetation cover of 20-25% of the surface is present.[13]
The mountain is worshipped by pastoralist people who inhabit the surrounding land, and remnants of a sanctuary have been found on its summit.[25]
^
ab"Argentina and Chile: North Ultra-Prominences" Peaklist.org. In the footnotes, Peaklist offers this comment:
[1]Cerro Palpana: We believe this is marginally higher than the published 6023 meter elevation. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
^Wigger, Klaus-Joachim Reutter, Ekkehard Scheuber, Peter J. (1994). "Large- and Fine-Scale Geochemical Variations Along the Andean Arc of Northern Chile (17.5°– 22°S)". Tectonics of the Southern Central Andes Structure and Evolution of an Active Continental Margin. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg. pp. 83–84.
doi:
10.1007/978-3-642-77353-2_5.
ISBN978-3-642-77353-2.{{
cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link)
^
abGodoy, Benigno; González-Maurel, Osvaldo; Harris, Chris; le Roux, Petrus; Lister, James (August 2023). "Oxygen and radiogenic isotopes require different contamination paths in the Azufre volcano, Central Andes, northern Chile". Journal of South American Earth Sciences. 128: 2–3.
doi:
10.1016/j.jsames.2023.104451.
^Schröder, Hilmar (2001). "Kommentar Zu Den Anmerkungen Von Bettina Jenny, Klaus Kammer Und Bruno Messerli (erdkunde 55, 2001, 288–289)". Erdkunde (in German). 55 (3): 289–291.
doi:
10.3112/erdkunde.2001.03.07.
JSTOR25647397.
^Billinghurst, Guillermo Eduardo (1 January 1893).
La irrigación en Tarapacá (in Spanish). Imprenta y Librería Ercilla. p. 65.
^Rudolph, William E. (1 January 1951). "Chuquicamata Twenty Years Later". Geographical Review. 41 (1): 88–113.
doi:
10.2307/211310.
JSTOR211310.