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Cerro Tuzgle   »  Summary

Cerro Tuzgle

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Country:Argentina
Subregion Name:Argentina
Volcano Number:1505-15-
Volcano Type: Stratovolcano
Volcano Status:Holocene?
Last Known Eruption: Unknown
Summit Elevation: 5500 m 18,044 feet
Latitude: 24.05°S 24°3'0"S
Longitude: 66.48°W 66°29'0"W

The easternmost young stratovolcano of the central Andes, Cerro Tuzgle, is located in Argentina about 120 km east of the main volcanic arc. Many youthful-looking flank lava flows were erupted from the well-preserved summit crater. Schwab and Lippolt (1976) obtained a Potassium-Argon date of 0.1 million years ago on what they believed to be the youngest lava from Cerro Tuzgle. However, de Silva and Francis (1991) and González-Ferrán (1995) considered the latest activity to be of Holocene age, and Coira and Kay (1993, Fig. 2B) placed the youngest flow at the Pleistocene-Holocene boundary. Activity began with the eruption of a rhyodacitic ignimbrite, followed by construction of a lava dome complex on the rim of an existing caldera. Andesitic lava flows covered much of the dome complex and later partially filled the crater. Several edifice-collapse events occurred during the evolution of the volcano. The youngest flows were erupted on the SE and SW flanks.

Global Volcanism ProgramDepartment of Mineral SciencesNational Museum of Natural HistorySmithsonian Institution

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