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

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 situated 82 km East of Temuco and 663 km South 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 ...

, within the borders of

Conguillío National Park Conguillío National Park is in the Andes, in the provinces of Cautín Province, Cautín and Malleco Province, Malleco, in the Araucanía Region of Chile also known as Araucanía Region, Region IX. Its name derives from the Mapudungun, Mapuch ...

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 and the latter is affluent of Allipén River.

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 between the Spanish and

Mapuche The Mapuche ( , ) also known as Araucanians are a group of Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of Patagonia. The collective term refers to a wide-ranging e ...

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 pillanes. 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 Natural satellite, moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a Fissure vent, fractu ...

s, landslides,

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

s, and the fall of

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

. 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, 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 ...

. Ash fall was recorded in the area of Zapala,

Neuquén Province Neuquén () is a Provinces of Argentina, 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 me ...

, 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 Natural satellite, moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a Fissure vent, fractu ...

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

Recreation

The ski center ''Las Araucarias'' lies on the volcano's western slopes. There are also some tours that go throughout the day.

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
"Volcán Llaima, Chile" on Peakbagger

Video of eruption

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

{{Authority control Stratovolcanoes of Chile Active volcanoes Mountains of Chile Volcanoes of Araucanía Region VEI-5 volcanoes Three-thousanders of the Andes Holocene stratovolcanoes