Chacana is a large 32-km long - 18–24 km wide
caldera
A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcanic eruption. An eruption that ejects large volumes of magma over a short period of time can cause significant detriment to the str ...
that has erupted in historical times. It forms one of the largest
rhyolite
Rhyolite ( ) is the most silica-rich of volcanic rocks. It is generally glassy or fine-grained (aphanitic) in texture (geology), texture, but may be porphyritic, containing larger mineral crystals (phenocrysts) in an otherwise fine-grained matri ...
centers in the Northern
Andes
The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...
with major eruptions over the past 240,000, 180,00, and 160,000 years ago and has had
andesitic
Andesite () is a volcanic rock of intermediate composition. In a general sense, it is the intermediate type between silica-poor basalt and silica-rich rhyolite. It is fine-grained (aphanitic) to porphyritic in texture, and is composed predomina ...
-rhyolitic volcanism.
[ With ]dacitic
Dacite () is a volcanic rock formed by rapid solidification of lava that is high in silica and low in alkali metal oxides. It has a fine-grained (aphanitic) to porphyritic texture and is intermediate in composition between andesite and rhyolite. ...
lava flows continuing into historical times. Lava dome
In volcanology, a lava dome is a circular, mound-shaped protrusion resulting from the slow extrusion of viscous lava from a volcano. Dome-building eruptions are common, particularly in convergent plate boundary settings. Around 6% of eruptions ...
s were also constructed in the Holocene
The Holocene () is the current geologic time scale, geological epoch, beginning approximately 11,700 years ago. It follows the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene to ...
. Chacana is located 30 km from Quito
Quito (; ), officially San Francisco de Quito, is the capital city, capital and second-largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its metropolitan area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha Province, P ...
and the large Antisana
Antisana is a stratovolcano of the northern Andes, in Ecuador. It is the fourth highest volcano in Ecuador, at , and is located SE of the capital city of Quito.
Antisana presents one of the most challenging technical climbs in the Ecuadorian An ...
volcano is constructed to the southeast.
Eruptions
Eruptions in the past 10,000 years have been limited to small lava flows originating from Fissures.
* 1760 Eruption: A small (VEI 0) Eruption, the first in historical time, came from a flank vent on the SW of the Caldera which caused some damage.
* 1773 Eruption: Another small eruption took place in 1773. It came from a fissure in the South part of the caldera.
See also
*Lists of volcanoes
These lists cover volcanoes by type and by location.
Type
* Active volcano
* List of extraterrestrial volcanoes
* List of largest volcanic eruptions
* List of shield volcanoes
* List of stratovolcanoes
* List of crater lakes
Location Afric ...
**List of volcanoes in Ecuador
This is a list of active and extinct volcanoes in Ecuador.
In Ecuador, National Polytechnic School (Ecuador), EPN monitors the volcanic activity in this Andean nation.
Mainland
Galápagos Islands
References
Volcano page, Institu ...
References
External links
Volcano Discovery - Chacana
Volcanoes of Ecuador
{{volcano-stub