Pular is a massive

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 ...

located in the Antofagasta Region of northern Chile, about 15 km west of the border with Argentina, which in this area is a straight line between the summits of Socompa 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 A drainage divide, water divide, ridgeline, watershed, water parting or height of land is elevated terrain that separates neighboring drainage basins. On rugged land, the divide lies along topographical ridges, and may be in the form of a singl ...

between Salar de Atacama basin and ''Salar de Pular'' basin. This latter is a bowl-shaped basin enclosed on the east by

Aracar Aracar is a large conical stratovolcano in northwestern Argentina, just east of the Chilean border. It has a main summit crater about in diameter which sometimes contains crater lakes, and a secondary crater. The volcano has formed, starting d ...

volcano. In the

Kunza Kunza is an extinct language isolate once spoken in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile and southern Peru by the Atacama people, Atacama people, who have since shifted to Spanish people, Spanish. The last speaker was documented in 1949. Other n ...

language Pular means "The Eyebrow"Humberto Barrera, "Cerro Pular", '' American Alpine Journal'', 1974, p. 194. Available a
AAJ Online
(PDF). and the volcano was a site of Inka cultural activity.

Geology and geomorphology

The Andes of northern Chile 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 and Llullaillaco does ice exist. However, traces of past glaciation occur on other volcanoes. The Pajonales-Pular volcanic massif has a volume exceeding and is formed by andesitic and dacitic rocks and covers an area of on faulted Miocene 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 A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a glacier or ice shee ...

. 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

s 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

s at less than elevation. A snowfield 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