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Country: | México | |
| Subregion Name: | México | ||
| Volcano Number: | 1401-01= | ||
| Volcano Type: | Stratovolcanoes | ||
| Volcano Status: | Holocene? | ||
| Last Known Eruption: | Unknown | ||
| Summit Elevation: | 1940+ m | 6,365 feet | |
| Latitude: | 27.470°N | 27°28'11"N | |
| Longitude: | 112.591°W | 112°35'28"W | |
| The Tres Vírgenes volcanic complex contains the only large stratovolcanoes in Baja California. The roughly 1940-m-high complex rises above the Gulf of California in the east-central part of the peninsula. Three volcanoes, El Viejo, El Azufre, and La Vírgen were constructed along a NE-SW line and are progressively younger to the SW. The youngest volcano, La Vírgen, is an andesitic stratovolcano with numerous dacitic lava domes and lava flows on its flanks. A major plinian explosive eruption from a SW-flank vent was radiocarbon dated at about 6500 years ago, but Helium exposure and Uranium-series dates give a late-Pleistocene age for this event. An ash plume was reported from Tres Vírgenes volcano by a Spanish Jesuit priest while navigating the Gulf of California in 1746. No tephra deposits from such a young eruption have been found, but young undated andesitic lava flows at the summit could potentially be related to this event. A geothermal plant is located at the northern end of the complex near the margin of the Pleistocene El Aguajito caldera. | |||
