Lascar (volcano) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Lascar |
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The Lascar volcano, seen from the Chaxas lagoon on the Gran Salar. To the left, in the background, the Aguas Calientes volcano.
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| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 5,592 m (18,346 ft) |
| Geography | |
 Lascar
Location in Chile
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| Location | Northern Chile |
| Parent range | Andes |
| Geology | |
| Mountain type | Stratovolcano |
| Last eruption | December 10, 2022 |
Lascar is a tall, cone-shaped stratovolcano in Chile. It's part of the Andes mountain range, which stretches across Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, and Chile. Lascar is the most active volcano in its area, with eruptions recorded since 1848.
This volcano has two main parts, or cones, and several craters at its top. The crater on the eastern cone is currently active. Lascar often releases volcanic gas and sometimes has explosive eruptions called vulcanian eruptions.
Scientists believe Lascar has been active for at least 56,000 years. Its activity started at the eastern cone with lava flows. Later, it shifted to the western cone, where lava domes formed. The volcano's magma comes from deep underground, where the Nazca Plate slides beneath the South America Plate. Other volcanoes nearby include Aguas Calientes and the huge La Pacana caldera.
Lascar has had at least three big eruptions. One was the Soncor eruption about 26,450 years ago. Another happened in 7,250 BCE, and the most recent large one was in 1993. The 1993 eruption was the biggest in recorded history. It sent ash fall as far as Buenos Aires, Argentina! Because Lascar is in a remote area, scientists mainly use remote sensing (like satellites) to watch it. The biggest danger from Lascar is its explosive eruptions.
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What's in a Name?
The name Lascar comes from the Atacameño word láskar or lassi, which means "tongue". People think this name refers to the volcano's shape. Other names for Lascar include Hlàscar, Hlascar, and Toconao.
People and the Volcano
The small town of Talabre is about 17 kilometers (10.5 miles) west of Lascar. In 2012, about 50 people lived there. Other towns like Toconao and San Pedro de Atacama are also nearby. People in Talabre mainly raise animals and farm. Chile Route 23 passes about 10 kilometers (6 miles) west of the volcano.
Lascar is a popular spot for volcano tourism, like El Tatio. Unlike some other volcanoes, there are no ancient archaeological sites found on Lascar. This might be because of its active nature. However, people from the town of Camar see Lascar as a protective mountain spirit. In Susques (Argentina), people believe that if Lascar steams a lot, it will snow. The people of Talabre even give gifts to the volcano, seeing it as their source of water.
Where is Lascar Located?
Volcanoes in the Andes
The Andes mountains have four main areas with volcanoes. Lascar is in the Central Volcanic Zone, which is the largest. This zone covers parts of Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, and Chile. The volcanoes here have been active for 120 million years! Water from the subduction of the Nazca Plate helps create the basaltic magma that feeds these volcanoes.
There are about 122 volcanoes in the Andes that have erupted in the last 10,000 years (the Holocene period). Many of them are covered in snow and ice. Some huge "supervolcanoes" are also found in the Central Volcanic Zone.
Lascar's Neighborhood
Lascar is in the Antofagasta Region of Chile. Its height is listed differently by various sources, but it's around 5,592 meters (18,346 feet) tall. The volcano covers an area of about 54 square kilometers (21 square miles).
Lascar sits on the western edge of a high plateau called the Altiplano. The Aguas Calientes volcano is just 5 kilometers (3 miles) east of Lascar. It's older than Lascar and might even share the same magma chamber.
Several valleys, like Quebrada de Chaile and Quebrada de Talabre, run from Lascar towards the Salar de Atacama salt flat. These valleys were likely carved out by glacial periods long ago.
South and north of Lascar are two lava domes, Cerro Corona and Cerro de Saltar. These domes are about 5 million years old. An eruption from Corona 16,700 years ago left ash in a nearby lagoon.
How Lascar is Built
Lascar is a steep volcano with two main cones that stretch from east to west. It has several craters at its top, usually counted as five or six. The western cone is older and no longer active. Its large crater is now filled by another cone, which is the highest point of Lascar.
Right next to it is the eastern cone, which is active. This eastern cone has three distinct craters. The westernmost of these three is the one that's currently active. It's surrounded by rims that are up to 150 meters (492 feet) high. The exact shape of the craters changes because of ongoing volcanic activity.
You can see large lava flows on the sides of the volcano. One lava flow on the northern side, called the Tumbres–Talabre lava flow, is 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) long and reaches almost to the village of Talabre. Another flow, the Capricorn Lava, is on the southwest side.
Lascar also has deposits from past pyroclastic flows. The Soncor flow, for example, is found mostly on the western side. It was formed by a huge eruption that sent material up to 27 kilometers (16.7 miles) west from the volcano.
Traces of glaciers can be found on the older parts of Lascar, above 4,600 meters (15,090 feet). These include U-shaped valleys and scratched rock surfaces.
What Lascar is Made Of
Lascar's rocks are mostly andesite and dacite. These rocks contain various minerals like plagioclase, pyroxene, and biotite. The magma that erupts from Lascar seems to be a mix of different types of magma. Scientists think that basaltic andesite magma is regularly injected into a magma chamber deep underground.
The main magma chamber of Lascar is thought to be about 10 to 17 kilometers (6 to 10.5 miles) deep. There might be another, shallower reservoir at 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) deep. The temperatures in the magma chamber can be very hot, from 890 to 970 degrees Celsius (1,634 to 1,778 degrees Fahrenheit).
Volcanic Gases
Lascar constantly releases plumes of gas and white clouds of water vapor. These come from many fumaroles, which are vents in the active crater. The gas temperatures can range from 40 to over 295 degrees Celsius (104 to 563 degrees Fahrenheit). These vents stay active for years.
The gases contain things like carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, hydrogen, and hydrogen sulfide. Lascar is also a big source of sulfur dioxide gas. It releases a lot of sulfur, sometimes as much as 2,300 tons (5 million pounds) per day! This is about 1% of all volcanic sulfur emissions worldwide.
Lascar also releases large amounts of hydrogen chloride and hydrogen fluoride. These are common in volcanoes linked to subduction. The volcano also produces tiny sulfate dust particles.
Lascar's Eruptions Over Time
Lascar is one of the most active volcanoes in the Central Volcanic Zone. It constantly releases a tall plume of water and sulfur dioxide. Most of its activity involves releasing gas, but it also has explosive eruptions every two or three years. These eruptions send columns of ash several kilometers high.
Early Eruptions
The oldest volcanic activity at Lascar happened between 220,000 and 50,000 years ago. The volcano's activity has moved back and forth between its eastern and western parts. The eastern part formed first, erupting andesite lava. Later, the western part formed a complex of lava domes.
One important early eruption was the Piedras Grandes unit. It created flows of ash and large blocks of rock. Another huge eruption, called the Soncor eruption, happened about 26,450 years ago. It released a massive amount of ash and pyroclastic flows. This eruption was so powerful it likely destroyed the previous volcano structure.
Recent Activity
After the Soncor eruption, a new volcano grew over the old vent. This new volcano was made of andesite-dacite lava flows. Around 7,250 BCE, the Tumbres eruption occurred, forming pumice falls and pyroclastic flows. This eruption also created a new caldera and two western craters.
Later, activity moved to the eastern part of the volcano. Around 5,150 BCE, the Tumbres-Talabre lava flow erupted from the eastern crater. This was Lascar's last major effusive eruption (lava flow). The three eastern summit craters formed around this time.
Historical Eruptions
Lascar has erupted about 30 times since the 19th century. People have written about its activity since the 1500s. Most of the recent activity involves gas emissions and occasional explosions.
In 1984, Lascar became more active. Satellites even saw hot spots on the volcano. In September 1986, an explosive eruption sent ash falling in Salta, Argentina. This eruption was strong enough to wake up sleeping people in Toconao! It created a mushroom-shaped cloud that reached 9.4 kilometers (5.8 miles) high.
In 1989, a lava dome formed in the crater. It later shrank, and in February 1990, a large eruption column rose 8 to 14 kilometers (5 to 8.7 miles) high. This caused ash to fall over 100 kilometers (62 miles) away. Lava bombs as big as 1.5 meters (5 feet) were thrown up to 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) from the crater.
The 1993 Eruption
A major eruption happened on April 19–20, 1993. It started with smaller explosions, then two big ones that sent eruption columns 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) high. The strongest part of the eruption created a column 23 kilometers (14.3 miles) high! This eruption was similar in size to the 1982 eruption of El Chichon. The lava dome in the crater was destroyed.
The eruption columns collapsed several times, creating pyroclastic flows. These hot, fast-moving flows reached lengths of 8.5 kilometers (5.3 miles) on the northwest side. They moved at speeds of 100 to 700 kilometers per hour (62 to 435 miles per hour)!
The ash from the volcano was carried by wind all the way to Argentina and the Atlantic Ocean. Ash fell in Buenos Aires, 1,500 kilometers (932 miles) away, and even in Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. This was Lascar's most significant eruption in 9,000 years. It released about 400,000 tons of sulfur dioxide.
People in Talabre were evacuated during the eruption. Luckily, no one was hurt or killed. However, the eruption did cause water pollution in the area, with increased levels of metals like cadmium and lead.
After 1993
After the 1993 eruption, a new lava dome formed in the crater, but it later subsided. Explosive eruptions continued, sometimes sending ash to Jujuy, Argentina.
More activity occurred in May 2005 and April 2006. The 2006 eruption was strong enough to shake windows in Talabre. It created ash columns up to 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) high. In December 2022, an explosion generated a 6-kilometer (3.7-mile) high plume. A new lava dome formed in the active crater in January 2023.
Earthquakes at Lascar
Lascar also experiences seismic activity, meaning small earthquakes. These can include "rapid-fire" events and long-period earthquakes, which are often linked to intense gas emissions. Sometimes, a continuous shaking called harmonic tremor is recorded, possibly caused by liquids moving inside the volcano.
Watching Lascar and Its Dangers
Because Lascar is in a remote area, scientists use remote sensing (like satellites) to monitor it. Since 2010, a network of monitoring equipment has been set up around the volcano. This includes gas monitors, seismometers (to detect earthquakes), a weather station, and cameras. Unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) and occasional flights are also used.
The National Geology and Mining Service of Chile considers Lascar one of Chile's most dangerous volcanoes. They publish volcano alert levels for it. The main dangers from Lascar are explosive eruptions and ash falls. Smaller explosions can happen suddenly, putting people on the mountain at risk.
Towns like Tumbres and Talabre could be affected by pyroclastic flows. Ash falls could reach San Pedro de Atacama, Talabre, and Toconao, as well as the Llano de Chajnantor Observatory. Past eruptions have disrupted air travel and could cause major problems in Argentina. In 1982, the town of Talabre was even moved because of flood and volcano risks.
Volcanic activity can also lead to heavy metal pollution. High levels of arsenic, thallium, and nickel have been found in local crops around Talabre.
Climate and Nature Around Lascar
The area around Lascar is one of the driest and highest volcanic places in the world. It gets only about 50 to 100 millimeters (2 to 4 inches) of rain each year, mostly as snow. This snow helps supply water to the volcano's fumaroles. Lascar is very close to the Atacama Desert, one of the world's driest deserts.
During past glacial periods, Lascar likely had small glaciers. The climate became much drier about 8,500 years ago, which reduced erosion.
Because of the dry climate, there isn't much plant life on Lascar. You might find bunch grass and shrubs on its slopes. In the deeper valleys, groundwater and streams support more plants.
Lascar's volcanic activity affects nearby ecosystems. For example, flamingos disappeared from Laguna Lejia after the 1993 eruption, only returning in 2007. However, other animals like donkeys and llamas were seen around the volcano just one day after that eruption.
See also
In Spanish: Volcán Láscar para niños
- List of volcanoes in Chile
