Cerro Blanco (volcano)

Cerro Blanco
Cerro Blanco
	Satellite image of Cerro Blanco volcano. The black area on the upper edge is Carachipampa volcano. Cerro Blanco caldera is located slightly left and below the centre of the image and is the grey-yellow area. Top of image is to the north-northeast.
Highest point
Elevation	4,670 m (15,320 ft)
Listing	List of volcanoes in Argentina
Coordinates	26°45′37″S 67°44′29″W / 26.76028°S 67.74139°W
Naming
English translation	White Hill
Language of name	Spanish
Geography
	Cerro Blanco Location in Argentina
Location	Catamarca Province, Argentina
Parent range	Andes
Geology
Age of rock	Holocene
Mountain type	Caldera
Volcanic belt	Central Volcanic Zone
Last eruption	2,300 ± 160 BCE

Cerro Blanco (Spanish: [ˈsero ˈβlaŋko], "White Hill") is a caldera in the Andes of the Catamarca Province in Argentina. Part of the Central Volcanic Zone of the Andes, it is a volcano collapse structure located at an altitude of 4,670 metres (15,320 ft) in a depression. The caldera is associated with a less well-defined caldera to the south and several lava domes.

The caldera has been active for the last eight million years, and eruptions have created several ignimbrites.^[a] An eruption occurred 73,000 years ago and formed the Campo de la Piedra Pómez ignimbrite layer. About 2,300 ± 160 BCE,^[1] the largest known volcanic eruption of the Central Andes, with a VEI-7, occurred at Cerro Blanco, forming the most recent caldera as well as thick ignimbrite layers. About 170 cubic kilometres (41 cu mi) of tephra^[b] were erupted then. The volcano has been dormant since then with some deformation and geothermal activity. A major future eruption would put nearby communities to the south at risk.

The volcano is also known for giant ripple marks that have formed on its ignimbrite fields. Persistent wind action on the ground has shifted gravel and sand, forming wave-like structures. These ripple marks have heights up to 2.3 metres (7 ft 7 in) and are separated by distances up to 43 metres (141 ft). These ripple marks are among the largest on Earth and have been compared to Martian ripple marks by geologists.

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Cite error: The named reference GVP was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ de Silva et al. 2010, p. 461.
^ Fernandez-Turiel et al. 2019, p. 2.

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

[GVP-1] Cite error: The named reference GVP was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[FOOTNOTEde_SilvaBaileyMandtViramonte2010461-2] Silva et al. 2010, p. 461.

[FOOTNOTEFernandez-TurielPerez–TorradoRodriguez-GonzalezSaavedra20192-4] Fernandez-Turiel et al. 2019, p. 2.

[1]

[a]

[b]