The Llaima Volcano is one of the largest and most active volcanoes in
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 is situated 82 km East of
Temuco and 663 km South of
Santiago
Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...
, within the borders of
Conguillío National Park.
Geography
The top of Llaima consists of two summits; the lower of the two, Pichillaima, is about high and is significantly less prominent than the higher northern summit.
The average elevation of the terrain around Llaima is about 740 m asl.
The volcano summit is located 10 km West South West of
Conguillío Lake
Conguillío Lake is a lake located in the La Araucanía Region of Chile, within the Conguillío National Park. The lake was formed by the damming of the Trufultruful River caused by a lava flow from the Llaima
The Llaima Volcano is one of the l ...
. Its slopes are drained by the rivers Captrén,
Quepe and
Trufultruful.
[ ] The former ones are tributaries of
Cautín River
The Cautín (Rio Cautín) is a river in Chile. It rises on the western slopes of the Cordillera de Las Raíces and flows in La Araucanía Region. The river's main tributary is the Quepe River. The city of Temuco is located on the Cautín River. ...
and the latter is affluent of
Allipén River
Allipén River is a river located in the La Araucanía Region of Chile. It is formed at the junction of the rivers Trufultruful and ''Zahuelhue'', near Melipeuco. The basin of the river comprises approximately 36 percent of the Conguillío Nation ...
.
Eruptions
Llaima is one of Chile's most active volcanoes and has frequent but moderate eruptions.
[ Llaima's activity has been documented since the 17th century, and consists of several separate episodes of moderate explosive eruptions with occasional lava flows.][Petit-Breuilh 2004, p. 324.] A 1640 eruption is thought to have contributed to a pause in the Arauco War between the Spanish and Mapuche
The Mapuche ( (Mapuche & Spanish: )) are a group of indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of Patagonia. The collective term refers to a wide-ranging ethnicity composed of various groups who sha ...
s established at the Parliament of Quillín
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
in 1641.[Petit-Breuilh 2004, p. 53.] Possibly Mapuches interpreted the eruption as a signal sent from spirits known as pillanes.[
An 1874–76 eruption caused various ]lava flow
Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or und ...
s, landslide
Landslides, also known as landslips, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep-seated grade (slope), slope failures, mudflows, and debris flows. Landslides occur in a variety of ...
s, lahar
A lahar (, from jv, ꦮ꧀ꦭꦲꦂ) is a violent type of mudflow or debris flow composed of a slurry of pyroclastic material, rocky debris and water. The material flows down from a volcano, typically along a river valley.
Lahars are extreme ...
s, and the fall of volcanic ash
Volcanic ash consists of fragments of rock, mineral crystals, and volcanic glass, created during volcano, volcanic eruptions and measuring less than 2 mm (0.079 inches) in diameter. The term volcanic ash is also often loosely used t ...
. After this eruption the volcano became known as Llaima or Yaima.[Petit-Breuilh 2004, p. 187.] Prior to that it had been known as Chañel a Mapuche word in reference to the pointy shape of its summit before the eruption.[
The last major eruption occurred in 1994. An eruption on January 1, 2008, forced the evacuation of hundreds of people from nearby villages. A column of smoke approximately 3000 m high was observed. An amateur caught the early eruption phase on video. The ]volcanic ash
Volcanic ash consists of fragments of rock, mineral crystals, and volcanic glass, created during volcano, volcanic eruptions and measuring less than 2 mm (0.079 inches) in diameter. The term volcanic ash is also often loosely used t ...
expelled by Llaima travelled east over the Andes into 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 ...
. Ash fall was recorded in the area of Zapala
Zapala is a city and touristic destination in the Patagonian province of Neuquén, Argentina with about 32,000 inhabitants according to the .
The city is located at the geographic center of the province at the confluence of national and provincia ...
, Neuquén Province
Neuquén () is a province of Argentina, located in the west of the country, at the northern end of Patagonia. It borders Mendoza Province to the north, Rio Negro Province to the southeast, and Chile to the west. It also meets La Pampa Province a ...
, and forced the cancellation of flights to and from Presidente Perón Airport near the city of Neuquén. On July 2, 2008, another eruption resulted in evacuation of 40 people from a 15 km exclusion zone.
An eruption occurred on April 5, 2009, with pyroclastic flows, ash and lava seen on the slopes.
Future eruptions
For the 2010–30 period an eruption of Volcanic Explosivity Index 2 or more is expected based on statistics. As of 2020 such eruption has not happened. Research that models the internal architecture of the volcano indicate that Llaima has reached its maximum height and that any large eruption of lava
Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or un ...
will likely occur from flank vents and not from the summit.
Recreation
The ski center ''Las Araucarias'' lies on the volcano's western slopes.
Gallery
Image:llaima_eruption1.jpg, January 2008 Llaima eruption
Image:llaima_eruption2.jpg, January 2008 Llaima eruption
Image:Eruption from Llaima Volcano, Chile.jpg, The April 2009 eruption seen from space
Image:First view of Volcan Llaima.jpg, Summit of Llaima volcano
Image:Llaima.jpg, Llaima volcano a few days after the January 2008 eruption
Image:Llaima1.jpg, Llaima volcano with a blanket of snow covering its solidified lava flows
Image:Llaima2.jpg, Llaima volcano
Image:Snow-Capped Llaima Volcano in Springtime.jpg, Snow-capped Llaima in springtime seen from space
See also
* List of volcanoes in Chile
* List of Ultras of South America
This is a list of the 209 ultra prominent peaks, or Ultras in South America. An ''Ultra'' is a mountain summit with a topographic prominence of or more.
Guiana Highlands
Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Cordillera Oriental, Cordillera de Mér ...
* Kütralkura Geopark
References
*
Araucarias
Bibliography
*
External links
Llaima Volcano Visual Observation Project
Sulfur Dioxide Plume from Llaima Volcano
at the NASA Earth Observatory
"Volcán Llaima, Chile" on Peakbagger
Video of eruption
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
{{andean volcanoes
Stratovolcanoes of Chile
Active volcanoes
Mountains of Chile
Volcanoes of Araucanía Region
VEI-5 volcanoes
Three-thousanders of the Andes
Holocene stratovolcanoes