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Tupungato, one of the highest
mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...
s in the
Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...
, is a massive
Andean The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the List of mountain ranges#Mountain ranges by length, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range i ...
lava dome In volcanology, a lava dome is a circular mound-shaped protrusion resulting from the slow extrusion of viscous lava from a volcano. Dome-building eruptions are common, particularly in convergent plate boundary settings. Around 6% of eruptions on ...
dating to
Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...
times. It lies on the border between the
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 ...
an Metropolitan Region (near a major international highway about east 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 ...
) and the
Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, s ...
province of Mendoza, about south of
Aconcagua Aconcagua () is a mountain in the Principal Cordillera of the Andes mountain range, in Mendoza Province, Argentina. It is the List of highest mountains on Earth, highest mountain in the Americas, the highest outside Asia, and the highest in the ...
, the highest peak of both the
Southern Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...
and
Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...
hemispheres. Immediately to its southwest is the active
Tupungatito Volcán Tupungatito is the northernmost historically active stratovolcano of the southern Andes. Part of the Chilean Andes' volcanic segment, it is the northernmost member of the Southern Volcanic Zone (SVZ), which is one of several distinct vol ...
volcano (literally, ''little Tupungato''), which last erupted in 1987.
Tupungato Department Tupungato is a departments of Argentina, department located in the provinces of Argentina, province of Mendoza Province, Mendoza, Argentina. The cabecera (departmental capital), Tupungato, is located approximately south of Mendoza, Argentina, Me ...
, an important
Argentine wine Argentina is the fifth largest producer of wine in the world.H. Johnson & J. Robinson ''The World Atlas of Wine'' pg 300-301 Mitchell Beazley Publishing 2005 Argentine wine, as with some aspects of Argentine cuisine, has its roots in Spain. Dur ...
-producing region in Mendoza province, is named for the volcano. Recent Chilean mapping indicates it has a height of 6635m.


1947 plane crash

On 2 August 1947, the airliner '' Star Dust'', an
Avro Lancastrian The Avro 691 Lancastrian was a Canadian and British passenger and mail transport aircraft of the 1940s and 1950s developed from the Avro Lancaster heavy bomber. The Lancaster was named after Lancaster, Lancashire; a Lancastrian is an inhabit ...
carrying six passengers and five crew over 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 ...
range, crashed into a steep
glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its Ablation#Glaciology, ablation over many years, often Century, centuries. It acquires dis ...
high on the Argentine side of Tupungato. The plane was quickly buried in the resulting
avalanche An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a slope, such as a hill or mountain. Avalanches can be set off spontaneously, by such factors as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, animals, and earth ...
and heavy
snowfall Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water throughout ...
that was taking place at the time. The plane lay undetected deep beneath the snow and glacial ice for over 50 years. Its remnants finally re-emerged at the
glacier terminus A glacier terminus, toe, or snout, is the end of a glacier at any given point in time. Although glaciers seem motionless to the observer, in reality glaciers are in endless motion and the glacier terminus is always either advancing or retreating ...
in 2000. Shortly thereafter, an
Argentine army The Argentine Army ( es, Ejército Argentino, EA) is the land force branch of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic and the senior military service of Argentina. Under the Argentine Constitution, the president of Argentina is the commander- ...
expedition discovered the scattered debris and wreckage, collecting some of the evidence for investigation.


See also

*
Incapillo Incapillo is a Pleistocene caldera, a depression formed by the collapse of a volcano, in the La Rioja province of Argentina. Part of the Argentine Andes, it is considered the southernmost volcanic centre in the Central Volcanic Zone of the Andes ...
*
List of volcanoes in Argentina This is a list of active and extinct volcanoes in Argentina. Volcanoes {, class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:right;" , - style="text-align:center;" ! rowspan="2" , Name ! rowspan="2" , Type ! colspan="2" , Elevation ! Location ...
*
List of volcanoes in Chile The Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanism Program lists 105 volcanoes in Chile that have been active during the Holocene.List of mountains in the Andes A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List (surname) Organizations * List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America * SC Germania List, German rugby union ...
*
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 ...


Notes


References


Citations


Bibliography

*


External links


Andeshandbook: complete description, history, place name and routes of Tupungato

Pictures of Mount Tupungato
*
"Cerro Tupungato, Argentina/Chile" on Peakbagger




(Spanish) {{Andean volcanoes Volcanoes of Mendoza Province Volcanoes of Santiago Metropolitan Region South Volcanic Zone Mountains of Argentina Mountains of Chile Polygenetic volcanoes Pleistocene lava domes Pleistocene South America Andean Volcanic Belt Six-thousanders of the Andes Principal Cordillera