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Peru · Stratovolcano

Huaynaputina

Type
Stratovolcano
Elevation
4679m
Last eruption
1600
Huaynaputina is a relatively inconspicuous volcano that was the source of one of the largest historical eruptions of the central Andes in 1600 CE. The volcano has no prominent topographic expression. This view is from the east into a 2.5-km-wide complex caldera that is breached widely to the east. Three ash cones, one of which can be seen in the shadow at the right-center, are located on the floor of the caldera. Light-colored ash deposits from the 1600 eruption can be seen mantling the caldera rim.
Huaynaputina is a relatively inconspicuous volcano that was the source of one of the largest historical eruptions of the central Andes in 1600 CE. The volcano has no prominent topographic expression. This view is from the east into a 2.5-km-wide complex caldera that is breached widely to the east. Three ash cones, one of which can be seen in the shadow at the right-center, are located on the floor of the caldera. Light-colored ash deposits from the 1600 eruption can be seen mantling the caldera rim. · Photo: Photo by Oscar González-Ferrán (University of Chile).
Type
Stratovolcano
Country
Peru
Region
South America / Central Andean Volcanic Arc
Elevation
4679m
Coordinates
-16.614, -70.854
Last eruption
1600
Tectonic setting
Subduction zone / Continental crust (> 25 km)
Landform
Composite
Major rock type
Dacite

Geological summary

Huaynaputina (whose name means "new volcano") was the source of the largest historical eruption of South America in 1600 CE.

Excerpt from the Global Volcanism Program, Smithsonian Institution · Read the full summary on GVP →

From Wikipedia

Huaynaputina is a volcano in a volcanic high plateau in southern Peru. Lying in the Central Volcanic Zone of the Andes, it was formed by the subduction of the oceanic Nazca Plate under the continental South American Plate. Huaynaputina is a large volcanic crater, which lacks an identifiable mountain profile, with an outer stratovolcano and three younger volcanic vents within an amphitheatre-shaped structure that is either a former caldera or a remnant of glacial erosion. The volcano has erupted dacitic magma.

Wikipedia · CC BY-SA · Read full article →

Eruption history

2 recordedGlossary

Record summary

Confirmed eruptions
2
Uncertain eruptions
0
Span of confirmed record
7750 BCE (±200 yrs) – 1600
Largest confirmed eruption
VEI 6 (1600)
Confirmed eruptions since 1900
0
Summary (VEI over time)
Click a bar to see individual eruptions · Use arrow keys to move between bars, Enter to open
7750 BCE~7438 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?1288~1600 · 1 eruptions · max VEI 67750 BCE5568 BCE3075 BCE893 BCE1288

Detailed timeline

  1. 1600VEI 6Observed
    1600-02-17 – 1600-03-06
    Summit and south flank
  2. 7750 BCE (±200 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    7750 BCE – end unknown

Nearby volcanoes

External links

⚠ For reference only. Not for emergency response.