The Llaima Volcano is one of the largest and most active volcanoes in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...

. It is situated 82 km East of

Temuco Temuco () is a List of cities in Chile, city and Communes of Chile, commune, capital (political), capital of the Cautín Province and of the Araucanía Region in southern Chile. The city is located south of Santiago de Chile, Santiago. The city ...

and 663 km South of

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whos ...

, within the borders of Conguillío National Park.

Geography

The top of Llaima consists of two summits; the lower of the two, Pichillaima, is about high and is significantly less prominent than the higher northern summit. The average elevation of the terrain around Llaima is about 740 m asl. The volcano summit is located 10 km West South West of Conguillío Lake. Its slopes are drained by the rivers Captrén, Quepe and Trufultruful. The former ones are tributaries of

Cautín River The Cautín (Rio Cautín) is a river in Chile. It rises on the western slopes of the Cordillera de Las Raíces and flows in La Araucanía Region. The river's main tributary is the Quepe River. The city of Temuco is located on the Cautín Rive ...

and the latter is affluent of

Allipén River Allipén River is a river located in the La Araucanía Region of Chile. It is formed at the junction of the rivers Trufultruful and ''Zahuelhue'', near Melipeuco. The basin of the river comprises approximately 36 percent of the Conguillío Nation ...

Eruptions

Llaima is one of Chile's most active volcanoes and has frequent but moderate eruptions. Llaima's activity has been documented since the 17th century, and consists of several separate episodes of moderate explosive eruptions with occasional lava flows.Petit-Breuilh 2004, p. 324. A 1640 eruption is thought to have contributed to a pause in the

Arauco War The Arauco War was a long-running conflict between colonial Spaniards and the Mapuche people, mostly fought in the Araucanía. The conflict began at first as a reaction to the Spanish conquerors attempting to establish cities and force Mapuche ...

between the Spanish and

Mapuche The Mapuche ( (Mapuche & Spanish: )) are a group of indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of Patagonia. The collective term refers to a wide-ranging ethnicity composed of various groups who s ...

s established at the Parliament of Quillín in 1641.Petit-Breuilh 2004, p. 53. Possibly Mapuches interpreted the eruption as a signal sent from spirits known as

pillan The Pillan (of Mapudungun origin; singular ''pillán'' and plural ''pillanes'' in Spanish) is a powerful and respected male spirit in Mapuche mythology. According to legend, the Pillan are good spirits, but they can also cause disasters, since th ...

es. An 1874–76 eruption caused various

lava flow Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or un ...

landslide Landslides, also known as landslips, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep-seated slope failures, mudflows, and debris flows. Landslides occur in a variety of environmen ...

lahar A lahar (, from jv, ꦮ꧀ꦭꦲꦂ) is a violent type of mudflow or debris flow composed of a slurry of pyroclastic material, rocky debris and water. The material flows down from a volcano, typically along a river valley. Lahars are extr ...

s, and the fall of

volcanic ash Volcanic ash consists of fragments of rock, mineral crystals, and volcanic glass, created during volcanic eruptions and measuring less than 2 mm (0.079 inches) in diameter. The term volcanic ash is also often loosely used to refer ...

. After this eruption the volcano became known as Llaima or Yaima.Petit-Breuilh 2004, p. 187. Prior to that it had been known as Chañel a Mapuche word in reference to the pointy shape of its summit before the eruption. The last major eruption occurred in 1994. An eruption on January 1, 2008, forced the evacuation of hundreds of people from nearby villages. A column of smoke approximately 3000 m high was observed. An amateur caught the early eruption phase on video. The

expelled by Llaima travelled east over the Andes into

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...

. Ash fall was recorded in the area of Zapala,

Neuquén Province Neuquén () is a province of Argentina, located in the west of the country, at the northern end of Patagonia. It borders Mendoza Province to the north, Rio Negro Province to the southeast, and Chile to the west. It also meets La Pampa Provinc ...

, and forced the cancellation of flights to and from Presidente Perón Airport near the city of Neuquén. On July 2, 2008, another eruption resulted in evacuation of 40 people from a 15 km exclusion zone. An eruption occurred on April 5, 2009, with pyroclastic flows, ash and lava seen on the slopes.

Future eruptions

For the 2010–30 period an eruption of Volcanic Explosivity Index 2 or more is expected based on statistics. As of 2020 such eruption has not happened. Research that models the internal architecture of the volcano indicate that Llaima has reached its maximum height and that any large eruption of

lava Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or ...

will likely occur from flank vents and not from the summit.

Recreation

The ski center ''Las Araucarias'' lies on the volcano's western slopes.

Gallery

Image:llaima_eruption1.jpg, January 2008 Llaima eruption Image:llaima_eruption2.jpg, January 2008 Llaima eruption Image:Eruption from Llaima Volcano, Chile.jpg, The April 2009 eruption seen from space Image:First view of Volcan Llaima.jpg, Summit of Llaima volcano Image:Llaima.jpg, Llaima volcano a few days after the January 2008 eruption Image:Llaima1.jpg, Llaima volcano with a blanket of snow covering its solidified lava flows Image:Llaima2.jpg, Llaima volcano Image:Snow-Capped Llaima Volcano in Springtime.jpg, Snow-capped Llaima in springtime seen from space

References

*
Araucarias

Bibliography

External links

Llaima Volcano Visual Observation Project

Sulfur Dioxide Plume from Llaima Volcano
at the

NASA Earth Observatory NASA Earth Observatory is an online publishing outlet for NASA which was created in 1999. It is the principal source of satellite imagery and other scientific information pertaining to the climate and the environment which are being provided by NA ...

"Volcán Llaima, Chile" on Peakbagger

Video of eruption
BBC {{andean volcanoes Stratovolcanoes of Chile Active volcanoes Mountains of Chile Volcanoes of Araucanía Region VEI-5 volcanoes Three-thousanders of the Andes Holocene stratovolcanoes