Chiliques is a

stratovolcano A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a typically conical volcano built up by many alternating layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile with ...

located in the

Antofagasta Region The Antofagasta Region (, ) is one of Chile's Administrative divisions of Chile, sixteen first-order administrative divisions. Being the second-largest region of Chile in area, it comprises three provinces, Antofagasta Province, Antofagasta, El ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

. Chiliques is capped off by a wide

summit crater A volcanic crater is an approximately circular depression in the ground caused by volcanic activity. It is typically a bowl-shaped feature containing one or more vents. During volcanic eruptions, molten magma and volcanic gases rise from an und ...

, which contains two crater lakes. One of these lakes is found in the northern part and the other east-southeastern part. The volcano is formed by rocks ranging from

andesite 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 ...

dacite 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. ...

; the andesites of the main stratocone building phase contain

pyroxene The pyroxenes (commonly abbreviated Px) are a group of important rock-forming inosilicate minerals found in many igneous and metamorphic rocks. Pyroxenes have the general formula , where X represents ions of calcium (Ca), sodium (Na), iron ( ...

. Together with Tumisa, Leija and

Cordón de Puntas Negras Cordón is a central ''barrio'' (neighbourhood or district) of Montevideo, Uruguay. Part of the city's central business district, alongside Centro, Montevideo, Centro and Ciudad Vieja, Montevideo, Ciudad Vieja, the 18 de Julio Avenue that runs thr ...

it forms a northwest-trending volcano alignment. The first part of Chiliques to form was a block lava field, which still crops out northeast of the main volcano to a distance of .

Lava flows 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 unde ...

with lengths of up to then constructed the

proper and were later buried by shorter (up to ) lava flows that cover a surface of around the summit crater. The

Cerro Overo Cerro Overo is a volcanic crater in Chile. It lies at the foot of Chiliques volcano and close to Laguna Lejía, over ignimbrites of Pliocene age erupted by the La Pacana volcano. It is wide and deep and formed through combined explosive-effusi ...

maar A maar is a broad, low-relief volcanic crater caused by a phreatomagmatic eruption (an explosion which occurs when groundwater comes into contact with hot lava or magma). A maar characteristically fills with water to form a relatively shallow ...

northeast of Chiliques is occasionally considered the last phase of Chiliques's activity, and the two have erupted rocks with similar chemical composition but later research suggests that they are unrelated. There is no evidence for historical activity. Over years, Chiliques has been monitored from space by

ASTER Aster or ASTER may refer to: Biology * ''Aster'' (genus), a genus of flowering plants ** List of ''Aster'' synonyms, other genera formerly included in ''Aster'' and still called asters in English * Aster (cell biology), a cellular structure shap ...

imagery. In 2002, the imagery showed evidence of a temperature anomaly on Chiliques, which occasionally reached a scale of . This temperature anomaly may reflect either thermal events in crater lakes or fumarolic activity, although evidence for the occurrence of either is equivocal. Some of the anomalies were observed in the crater and others on the upper slopes of the volcano. This anomaly lasted only a few months. A subsequent expedition to the crater found no evidence of eruptions nor of any anomalous temperatures in the

crater lake Crater Lake ( Klamath: ) is a volcanic crater lake in south-central Oregon in the Western United States. It is the main feature of Crater Lake National Park and is a tourist attraction for its deep blue color and water clarity. T ...

. Future eruptions are likely going to be lava flows and only impact the immediate surroundings of the volcano, although larger eruptions may impact the roads around Huaytiquina pass and Socaire.

Magnetotelluric Magnetotellurics (MT) is an electromagnetic geophysical method for inferring the earth's subsurface electrical conductivity from measurements of natural geomagnetic and geoelectric field variation at the Earth's surface. Investigation depth ran ...

investigation of the region has shown evidence of a high-conductivity structure underground between Chiliques,

and

Láscar Lascar is a stratovolcano in Chile within the Central Volcanic Zone of the Andes, a volcanic arc that spans Peru, Bolivia, Argentina and Chile. It is the most active volcano in the region, with records of eruptions going back to 1848. It is c ...

. This high conductivity zone reaches a depth of at its southern end, and it might reflect the presence of

magma Magma () is the molten or semi-molten natural material from which all igneous rocks are formed. Magma (sometimes colloquially but incorrectly referred to as ''lava'') is found beneath the surface of the Earth, and evidence of magmatism has also ...

underground. The lake

Laguna Lejia Laguna (Italian and Spanish word for lagoon), is a Spanish, Italian, and Polish surname. It may also refer to: People * Andrés Laguna (1499–1559), Spanish physician, pharmacologist, and botanist * Benjamín Máximo Laguna y Villanueva (1822– ...

lies north of Chiliques volcano, other parts of the volcano drain into the

Salar de Atacama Salar de Atacama, located south of San Pedro de Atacama, is the largest Salt pan (geology), salt flat in Chile. It is surrounded by mountains and lacks drainage outlets. To the east, it is enclosed by the main chain of the Andes, while to the wes ...

; the volcano forms part of the

drainage divide A drainage divide, water divide, ridgeline, watershed, water parting or height of land is elevated terrain that separates neighboring drainage basins. On rugged land, the divide lies along topographical ridges, and may be in the form of a single ...

of the salar. A pre-modern route goes up the mountain and aside from the steep slopes and height of the mountain, does not feature any major difficulties. The town of Socaire is found west of Chiliques, and the volcano has cultural importance to the town, with the volcano being considered the origin of the water for Socaire and part of a cosmological representation together with the neighbouring mountains Tumisa, Lausa, Ipira and

Miñiques Miñiques is a massive volcanic complex containing a large number of craters, lava domes and flows, located in the Antofagasta Region of Chile. Located south of Volcán Chiliques and west of Cordón Puntas Negras, it is part of a frequently ...

. Seen from Socaire, the sun rises behind Chiliques during St. Bartholomew's Day; St. Bartholomew is an important saint for the town. Archeological findings made on Chiliques include pottery, a stone room and an elliptical structure in the summit area. Additional platforms and stone structures are found lower on its slopes, and an Incan tambo even farther down. Such archeological sites on mountains are common in Chile, with

Licancabur Licancabur () is a prominent, stratovolcano on the Bolivia–Chile border in the Central Volcanic Zone of the Andes. It is capped by a wide summit crater which contains Licancabur Lake, a Volcanic crater lake, crater lake that is among the hig ...

and Cerro Quimal being examples of other mountains with such structures.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Volcanoes of Antofagasta Region Mountains of Chile Stratovolcanoes of Chile Five-thousanders of the Andes