Maipo (volcano)

Maipo is a stratovolcano in the Andes, lying on the border between Argentina and Chile. It is located 90 km (56 mi) south of Tupungato and about 100 km (62 mi) southeast of Santiago. It has a symmetrical, conical volcanic shape, and is among the southernmost 5,000 metre peaks in the Andes.[3]

Maipo
Maipo volcano in 2008
Highest point
Elevation	5,264 m (17,270 ft) [note 1]
Coordinates	34°09′39.6″S 69°49′58.8″W
Geography
Maipo Location on Argentina – Chile border
Location	Argentina – Chile
Parent range	Principal Cordillera, Andes
Geology
Mountain type	Stratovolcano
Last eruption	1912[1]
Climbing
First ascent	1883 by Paul Güssfeldt[2]
Easiest route	snow/ice climb

Maipo is located within the Diamante caldera, a feature measuring 15 km by 20 km that is about half a million years old. It rises about 1,900 m (6,230 ft) above the floor of the caldera. Immediately to the east of the peak, on the eastern side of the caldera floor, is Laguna del Diamante, a lake that formed when lava flows blocked drainage channels from the caldera in 1826. The Diamante Caldera erupted 450 cubic kilometers (108 cu mi) of tephra, 450 ka.[4]

The region's climate is transitional between the drier Mediterranean climate of the peaks to the north and the cold, moist climate of Chilean Patagonia. Hence, while less glaciated than Patagonia, it has more permanent snow on the wet, Chilean side than peaks of similar elevation to the north.[3]

See also

• List of volcanoes in Chile
• List of volcanoes in Argentina

References

1. "Maipo". Global Volcanism Program. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2015-01-10.
2. Neate, Jill (1994). "Central Chile". Mountaineering in the Andes (2nd ed.). Expedition Advisory Centre. ISBN 0-907649-64-5.
3. Kelsey, Michael R. (1990). Climbers and Hikers Guide to the World's Mountains (3rd ed.). Kelsey Publishing. ISBN 0-944510-02-7.
4. "Supplementary Table to P.L. Ward, Thin Solid Films (2009) Major volcanic eruptions and provinces" (PDF). Teton Tectonics. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-01-20. Retrieved 2010-03-16.

Notes

1. from Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) data.

Sources

• Volcan Maipo or Maipú (span.)
• "Maipo". Global Volcanism Program. Smithsonian Institution.
• Sruoga, P.; Llambías, E.J.; Fauqué, L.; Schonwandt, D.; Repol, D.G. (2005). "Volcanological and geochemical evolution of the Diamante Caldera-Maipo volcano complex in the Southern Andes of Argentina (34°10'S)". J. South American Earth Sci. 19: 399–414. doi:10.1016/j.jsames.2005.06.003.

Satellite image of Maipo