Taftan (volcano)

Taftan ( fa, تفتان, ''Taftân'', Persian for "blistering, smoldering, fuming") is an active stratovolcano in south-eastern Iran in the Sistan and Baluchestan province. With variable heights reported, all around 4,000 metres (13,000 ft) above sea level, it is the highest mountain in south-eastern Iran. The nearest city is Khash.

Taftan has two main summits, Narkuh and Madehkuh, and various heights have been reported for both summits. The northwestern Narkuh has two craters and is the older of the two summits. The southeastern Madehkuh summit is surrounded by fresh-looking lava flows and has at least three craters. The principal rock at Taftan is andesite.

Reports of historical volcanic activity are unclear and the youngest radiometric dates are 6,950 ± 20 years before present. Currently, the volcano features vigorous fumarolic activity that is visible from a great distance and involves numerous vents on Materkuh. Taftan appears to be part of a geothermal area, and a number of hot springs can be found around the volcano.

Taftan is part of a volcanic arc in Iran, together with Bazman, also in Iran, and Koh-i-Sultan in Pakistan. This volcanic arc has formed on Cretaceous-Eocene sedimentary layers and has resulted from the subduction of the oceanic Arabian plate beneath Iran at the Makran trench.

Geography and geology

Taftan is in Iran's Sistan and Balochistan province. Closest cities are Khash south and Zahedan north north-west. In 1844, Abdul-Nabi reported of the existence of the mountain, as well as its volcanic activity. In 1971, it was reported that some Beluch tribes camp on Taftan's slopes outside of winter.

Regional setting

Volcanic activity has occurred in parts of Iran since the Cretaceous period. During the Eocene and Oligocene epochs, volcanic activity reached its maximum, with thick pyroclastic layers being deposited in central Iran and the Alborz mountains. The area around Taftan volcano belongs to a tectonic zone which is variously referred to as the Sistan suture or the Zabul-Baloch zone. There, after a previous episode of rifting and subsequent formation of an ocean, the Neh and Lut tectonic blocks collided during the Eocene epoch after a subduction episode that commenced in the Maastrichtian age.

Volcanic activity at Taftan itself appears to relate to the subduction of the Arabian plate beneath the Central Iran plate, occurring at a pace of or at the Makran trench. This subduction is also responsible for volcanism at Bazman in Iran and Koh-i-Sultan in Pakistan; this chain is known as the Baluchistan volcanic arc. The volcanism appears to not align with pre-existent structural trends in the basement. This subduction has also created an accretionary wedge that forms the Makran region.

The convergence of the two blocks continued even after their collision, generating strike-slip faults. The Saravan fault east of Taftan is one such fault; the 2013 Saravan earthquake occurred on this fault. From some of these faults it has been inferred that the mass load from the Taftan edifice has measurable effects on tectonic stress within the region.

Local setting

Taftan is the highest mountain in southeast Iran. The topography is overall steep. Deep valleys with U and V shapes have developed on Taftan, and the volcano has a strongly eroded appearance. One of these valleys, Tamindan, may be the Damindan valley in the Avesta religious texts. One series of ignimbrites surrounding Taftan which reaches thicknesses of and reaches distances of from the edifice may be 2 million years old.

The basement of Taftan is formed by various sedimentary rocks, along with some mafic volcanic rocks and metamorphic rocks. At Taftan, the Nehbandan-Khash flysch borders the Makran zone. The oldest rocks are limestones from the Cretaceous period. The crust beneath Taftan is approximately thick. The main edifice is constructed on top of the Eocene flysch, although some Cretaceous sediments are also part of the basement. Much of these rocks is coloured pink by haematite. The 19 mya old Mirabad granite pluton may be associated with Taftan; it could be the remnant of a Miocene volcano. Volcanic rocks of Quaternary age are widespread in the area.

Taftan is a volcano with several summits; the highest two are separated by a saddle and are named Narkuh or Narkooh and Materkuh or Madekooh, which are apart. Narkuh is high and Materkuh . There are different heights reported for the summits, some of them placing Materkuh as the higher of the two: for example more recent Iranian maps cited in 2004 show Narkuh with a height of and Materkuh with a height of , while Gansser in 1964 indicated a summit height of . Another report from 1931 claimed a summit height of , a report in 1976 stated , and a map in 2004 claimed a measurement of . These summits rise above the surrounding plains.

Narkuh has two craters, the northern of which is lower and is the source of more lava flows than the southern. The northwest Narkuh cone from the Pleistocene age is highly eroded, while the southeastern Materkuh cone has fresh appearing lava flows and displays solfataric activity. Materkuh has three principal craters, although the eastern side of the eastern crater has also been affected by erosion. Alternatively, an explosive eruption removed the eastern side and generated a steep ravine. The northern crater has been the source of lava flows, some of which are well preserved and reach lengths of . In general, thick andesitic lava flows cover Materkuh. In 1893 and 1914, Percy Sykes described a summit plateau with a surface of , at the side of which lay the two summits Ziaret Kuh ("Hill of Sacrifice", where pilgrims sacrificed goats) and Madar Kuh ("Mother Hill", containing fumaroles according to the 1893 report). Fumarolic alteration of the summit area has generated sulfur and clay deposits which resemble snowcap. One report in 1893 indicated that the summit area of the volcano was covered with ash from upwards.

The bulk of the volcano is formed by lava flows, along with volcaniclastic rocks, with dacites and pyroclastics lying on top of the Cretaceous-Eocene basement. These loose rocks formed by erosion, explosive activity and hot avalanches and are deposited in a large apron at the base of the volcano that extends over away from the central vents. Several fans of pyroclastic material, cemented by andesitic tuffs, surround the base of Taftan. Ignimbrites and pyroclastic flows are also present, including breccias, nuee ardentes and tuffs. Volcanic rocks cover a surface of . There is also evidence of southeastern migration of the craters of Taftan, with Anjerk and Sardarya being more westerly vents. These preceding centres have left andesitic lava flows that are partially dissected and agglomerates. The existence of a caldera at Taftan has been inferred. The table mountain Takht-i-Rostam south of Taftan may be the remnant of a basalt extrusion, but it doesn't appear to be related to Taftan. A magma chamber may lie beneath the volcano.

Composition

Taftan has erupted lavas ranging from basaltic andesite to dacite. The dominant rock is andesite, with content ranging from 49.8 to 63.5%. Grey andesites form the youngest rocks on the main summit and contain chlorite schist and biotite gneiss inclusions. The andesites are vesicular. The magma of Taftan volcano is very oxidized, as can be inferred from the composition of the surrounding ignimbrite and fumarole gases.

The lavas of Taftan are porphyritic. Mineral components include biotite, clinopyroxene, hornblende, orthopyroxene, plagioclase and quartz. Other components are chalcopyrite, haematite, ilmenite, magnetite and pyrite. Complex phenocryst assemblages found in a sample indicate that the magma formation is a complex process. Taftan rocks overall are potassium-rich calc-alkaline, of sub–alkaline affinity. The magma that formed these rocks was influenced by crystal fractionation and mixing processes. Its composition has characteristics of volcanic arc magmas. Crustal materials were involved in the formation of the magma, with strontium isotope data indicating crustal assimilation.

Fumarolic activity affects surrounding rocks and pyroclastics. Carbonates, opal, and white covers of possibly aluminum sulfate and calcium sulfate have been formed. Gypsum formed from the sulfur of the volcano is found in the form of crystals in the upper valleys of Taftan. Sinter and hydrothermally altered rocks are found farther down. Minerals formed by alteration processes include alunite, calcite, cristobalite, illite, jarosite, kaolinite, pyrophyllite, quartz, smectite, sulfur and tridymite. Some epithermal mineralizations have been identified around Taftan. Other secondary factors at Taftan include lahars.

Eruptive history

About five different active eruption periods have been discovered at Taftan volcano. Activity first involved lava and pyroclastics of dacitic to rhyodacitic composition. Later, upper Pliocene

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases