What kind of volcano is Villarrica?
basaltic volcano
Villarrica is an open system basaltic volcano with a long historic record that includes four fatal eruptions. A very large (VEI=5) eruption was dated ca. 1810 BC by the carbon-14 method. The first historic eruption was recorded in 1558.
How was the Villarrica volcano formed?
Villarrica is a stratovolcano, and one of the many active volcanoes of the Southern Volcanic Zone of the Chilean Andes. This section of volcanoes has formed in response to the subduction of the Nazca plate beneath the South American plates, and stretches along the backbone of Chile for over a thousand kilometres.
How many times has the Villarrica volcano erupted?
Villarrica volcano had frequent strombolian eruptions in the second half of the 16th century. Peaks of activity occurred in 1558 and 1562. The 1562 eruption in particular deposited thin ash layers as far as 200 km away from the volcano….1971–1972 eruption.
| 1971–1972 eruption of Villarrica | |
|---|---|
| VEI | 2 |
How wide is Villarrica volcano?
As mentioned in Section 1.1, the lava lake at the funnel shaped summit crater of Villarrica Volcano is approximately 20 m to 30 m wide and located at depths of 50 m to over 150 m [15]. As the crater lava lake disappeared on 25 February 2015 (cf.
When did Villarrica first erupt?
SERNAGEOMIN reported that explosions at Villarrica were recorded at 0534 and 0804 on 15 October and were each associated with long-period seismicity. The first explosion ejected incandescent material above the crater rim and deposited tephra on the E flank as far as 3 km.
Is Villarrica still erupting?
An intermittently active lava lake at the summit has been the source of Strombolian activity, incandescent ejecta, and thermal anomalies for several decades; the current eruption has been ongoing since December 2014.
What is the volume of Villarrica volcano?
Villarrica is a caldera-stratovolcano complex covering an area of about 100 km^2 and having a volume of about 40 km^3. Its 61 eruptions during recorded history (that is, since the 16th century) make it one of South America’s most active volcanoes.
What plate boundary is Villarrica?
Nazca
It is on the boundary of the Nazca and South American plates. Villarrica is one of Chile’s most active volcanoes and looms large over the lake and town of the same name.
What is basaltic volcano?
Basalt is a hard, black volcanic rock with less than about 52 weight percent silica (SiO2). Because of basalt’s low silica content, it has a low viscosity (resistance to flow). Therefore, basaltic lava can flow quickly and easily move >20 km from a vent. Basalt is erupted at temperatures between 1100 to 1250 ° C.