Cerro Bayo is a

complex volcano A complex volcano, also called a compound volcano or a volcanic complex, is a mixed landform consisting of related volcanic centers and their associated lava flows and pyroclastic rock. They may form due to changes in eruptive habit or in t ...

on the northern part border between

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

and

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

. It consists of four overlapping

stratovolcano A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a conical volcano built up by many layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile with a summit crater and per ...

es along a north–south line. The main volcano face is located on the Argentine side, thought the summit of the complex is just west of the border, in Chile. The volcano is about 800,000 years old, but it is associated with ongoing ground uplift encompassing also the more northerly

Lastarria Lastarria is a high stratovolcano that lies on the border between Chile and Argentina. It is remote and the surroundings are uninhabited but can be reached through an unpaved road. The volcano is part of the Central Volcanic Zone, one of the fou ...

and Cordón del Azufre volcanoes. The high summit is the source of two viscous

dacitic Dacite () is a volcanic rock formed by rapid solidification of lava that is high in silica and low in alkali metal oxides. It has a fine-grained (aphanitic) to porphyritic texture and is intermediate in composition between andesite and rhyol ...

lava flows with prominent levees that traveled to the north. In 2007 a steam eruption were observed by researchers investigating nearby salt pans such as Salar Ignorado.

References

* (in Spanish; also includes volcanoes of Argentina, Bolivia, and Peru) * * Complex volcanoes Volcanoes of Atacama Region Volcanoes of Catamarca Province Mountains of Argentina Mountains of Chile Polygenetic volcanoes Subduction volcanoes Argentina–Chile border International mountains of South America Five-thousanders of the Andes {{Atacama-geo-stub

See also

References