Arintica facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Arintica |
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Arintica (left) and Pukintika (right) as seen from Polloquere hot springs area.
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| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 5,597 m (18,363 ft) |
| Geography | |
| Location | Chile |
| Parent range | Andes |
| Geology | |
| Mountain type | Stratovolcano |
| Last eruption | Unknown |
Arintica is a large volcano called a stratovolcano. It is found in the Arica y Parinacota Region of Chile, very close to the border with Bolivia. This volcano stands tall north of a salt flat known as the Salar de Surire.
Arintica has a main peak in the north and a slightly lower peak to the south. There is also a smaller peak to the west. A valley, once carved by a glacier, sits between the main peaks. The snow on the mountain usually starts around 5,590 meters (about 18,340 feet) high. Long ago, five glaciers covered parts of Arintica. They melted and flowed into the Salar de Surire. Today, you can still see "rock glaciers" on the mountain, which are slow-moving mixtures of rock and ice.
The Volcano's Age and Activity
Scientists have studied rocks from Arintica to find out how old it is. Using a method called Potassium-argon dating, they found that the rocks are about 637,000 years old. This means the volcano was formed a very long time ago!
Arintica was built up in two main stages. Scientists have seen signs of lava flows that happened after the last Ice Age, but they haven't been able to study these rocks up close yet. What was once thought to be a lava flow on the southeast side is now believed to be a large landslide of rock and debris. Other lava flows inside the crater are actually rock glaciers.
There is also a type of lava dome called Calajata to the southwest of the main volcano. It is made of a rock called dacite.
Is Arintica Dangerous?
In 2011, Arintica was listed as a volcano that could potentially be dangerous in Chile. However, scientists are still debating if the volcano has been active in the last 10,000 years (a period called the Holocene). There are no records of it erupting in human history.
If Arintica were to become active again, scientists believe any eruption would likely be small. It would probably only affect the areas very close to the volcano. Around the volcano, you can find special forests of Polylepis trees.
See also
In Spanish: Volcán Arintica para niños
