Pular is a massive stratovolcano located in the

Antofagasta Region The Antofagasta Region ( es, Región de Antofagasta, ) is one of Chile's sixteen first-order administrative divisions. The second-largest region of Chile in area, it comprises three provinces, Antofagasta, El Loa and Tocopilla. It is bordered t ...

of northern

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 ...

, about 15 km west of the border with

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 ...

, which in this area is a straight line between the summits of

Socompa Socompa is a large stratovolcano at the border of Argentina and Chile with an elevation of metres. Part of the Chilean and Argentine Andean Volcanic Belt (AVB), it is part of the Central Volcanic Zone, one of the various segments of the AVB. Th ...

volcano and ''Cerro del Rincón''. Pular, along with '' Cerro Pajonales'', forms a high volcanic ridge, which runs in a generally north-east to south-west direction for . Southward, following the same direction as the ridge, lies Socompa volcano. The ridge's crest forms a drainage divide between

Salar de Atacama Salar de Atacama is the largest salt flat in Chile. It is located south of San Pedro de Atacama, is surrounded by mountains, and has no drainage outlets. In the east it is enclosed by the main chain of the Andes, while to the west lies a secondar ...

basin and ''Salar de Pular'' basin. This latter is a bowl-shaped basin enclosed on the east by Aracar volcano. In the Kunza language Pular means "The Eyebrow"Humberto Barrera, "Cerro Pular", ''

American Alpine Journal The ''American Alpine Journal'' is an annual magazine published by the American Alpine Club. Its mission is "to document and communicate mountain exploration." The headquarters is in Golden, Colorado. Subtitled as a compilation of "The World's M ...

'', 1974, p. 194. Available a
AAJ Online
(PDF). and the volcano was a site of Inka cultural activity.

Geology and geomorphology

The

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

of northern

are formed by a number of volcanoes, some of which reach elevation. During winter they are covered with snow but the climate of the region is arid and the snow disappears during the summer months; only on some high summits like

Ojos del Salado Nevado Ojos del Salado is a dormant complex volcano in the Andes on the Argentina–Chile border. It is the highest volcano on Earth and the highest peak in Chile. The upper reaches of Ojos del Salado consist of several overlapping lava domes, ...

and

Llullaillaco Llullaillaco () is a dormant stratovolcano at the border of Argentina (Salta Province) and Chile (Antofagasta Region). It lies in the Puna de Atacama, a region of tall volcanic peaks on a high plateau close to the Atacama Desert, one of the dri ...

does ice exist. However, traces of past

glaciation A glacial period (alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate be ...

occur on other volcanoes. The Pajonales-Pular volcanic massif has a volume exceeding and is formed by

andesitic Andesite () is a volcanic rock of intermediate composition. In a general sense, it is the intermediate type between silica-poor basalt and silica-rich rhyolite. It is fine-grained (aphanitic) to porphyritic in texture, and is composed predomin ...

and

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 ...

rocks and covers an area of on faulted

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

sediments. The massif consists of an alignment of volcanoes and two subunits, a heavily eroded unit that consists of Pajonales and Pular proper and a younger unit consisting of volcanic domes. These domes reach heights of and one of these overlies a glacial moraine. Rocks of the older unit are 3.9 million years old, while one of the domes has been dated to be 1.8 million years old. Unverified reports indicate an explosive eruption in 1990, but the region is remote and renewed activity is unlikely to have any impact. Numerous moraines occur within the drainage network of Pajonales-Pular. The mountain was extensively glaciated in the past, with five glacier systems on its northwestern and six on the southeastern slopes. The glaciers reached lengths of and formed moraines at less than elevation. A

snowfield A snow field, snowfield or neve is an accumulation of permanent snow and ice, typically found above the snow line, normally in mountainous and glacial terrain. Glaciers originate in snowfields. The lower end of a glacier is usually free from ...

presently occupies one of the areas on the southeastern slopes that was formerly glaciated, and ephemeral lakes filled with snowmelt water occasionally appear on the mountain.

References

Sources

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External links

"Cerro Pular, Chile" on Peakbagger
Volcanoes of Antofagasta Region Stratovolcanoes of Chile Six-thousanders of the Andes

Geology and geomorphology

See also

References

Sources

External links