Maipo 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 ...

in the

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 ...

, lying on the border between

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

and

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 ...

. It is located south of

Tupungato Tupungato, one of the highest mountains in the Americas, is a massive Andes, Andean lava dome dating to Pleistocene times. It lies on the Argentina–Chile border, between the Chilean Metropolitan Region (near a major international highway about ...

and about southeast of

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

. It has a symmetrical, conical volcanic shape, and is among the southernmost 5,000 metre peaks in the Andes. 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 of

tephra Tephra is fragmental material produced by a Volcano, volcanic eruption regardless of composition, fragment size, or emplacement mechanism. Volcanologists also refer to airborne fragments as pyroclasts. Once clasts have fallen to the ground, ...

, 450 ka. 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 Patagonia () is a geographical region that includes parts of Argentina and Chile at the southern end of South America. The region includes the southern section of the Andes mountain chain with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and glaciers ...

. Hence, while less glaciated than Patagonia, it has more permanent snow on the wet, Chilean side than peaks of similar elevation to the north.

References

;Notes ;Sources * Volcan Maipo or Maipú (span.

* Mountains of Mendoza Province Volcanoes of Mendoza Province Mountains of Santiago Metropolitan Region Volcanoes of Santiago Metropolitan Region Stratovolcanoes of Chile Subduction volcanoes Active volcanoes VEI-7 volcanoes Stratovolcanoes of Argentina Argentina–Chile border International mountains of South America Five-thousanders of the Andes Principal Cordillera Holocene stratovolcanoes {{MendozaAR-geo-stub

See also

References