Purico Complex

Purico Complex
The Cerro Negro dome and the Cerros de Macón stratovolcano form the northwestern part of the Purico Volcanic complex
Elevation	5,703 m (18,711 ft)
Location
Location	Chile
Coordinates	23°00′S 67°45′W
Geology
Type	Pyroclastic shield
Age of rock	Holocene
Last eruption	Unknown

The Purico Complex is a pyroclastic shield located in the eastern part of the Atacama Desert in Chile's II Region (Antofagasta), approximately 5 km (3 mi) south of the Bolivia - Chile border. The complex covers an area of roughly 20 km (12 mi) x 30 km (19 mi) and is conformed by 12 subsidiaries, including stratovolcanoes, lava domes and a maar. Juriques to the north and Guayaques to the east are separate volcanic systems.

Subsidiary features

• Stratovolcanos
  • Cerro Purico - 5,703 m (18,711 ft)
  • Cerros de Macón - 5,130 m (16,831 ft)
  • Cerro Toco - 5,604 m (18,386 ft)
• Maars
  • Alitar - 5,346 m (17,539 ft)
• Lava domes
  • Cerro Agua Amarga - 5,058 m (16,594 ft)
  • Cerro Áspero - 5,262 m (17,264 ft)
  • Cerro Chajnantor (Cerro Cerrillo) - 5,639 m (18,501 ft)
  • Cerro El Chascón (Chascón de Purico) - 5,703 m (18,711 ft)
  • Cerro Negro - 5,016 m (16,457 ft)
  • Cerro Putas - 5,462 m (17,920 ft)

ASTE with Cerro El Chascón (right).

The Purico complex seen from the NNW. Left to right: Cerro Toco, Cerro Purico, Cerro Negro, (mountain - unknown), Cerros de Macón. Background (not part of the Purico Complex): Colachi (snow covered), Laguna Verde, Acamarachi. Camera location: 22° 55.160'S 68° 6.831'W Heading: 116° Alt.: 2,501 m (8,205 ft)

See also

• List of volcanoes in Chile
• Ignimbrite
• Salar de Atacama
• Llano de Chajnantor Observatory

References

• "Purico Complex". Global Volcanism Program, Smithsonian Institution. http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/volcano.cfm?vnum=1505-094. 
• González-Ferrán, Oscar (1995) (in Spanish). Volcanes de Chile. Santiago: Instituto Geográfico Militar. ISBN 9562020541.