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
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 cit ...
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
Conguillío Lake is a lake located in the La Araucanía Region of Chile, within the Conguillío National Park. The lake was formed by the damming of the Trufultruful River caused by a lava flow from the Llaima volcano.
References
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 River ...
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 Nati ...
.
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 region of Chile. The conflict began at first as a reaction to the Spanish conquerors attempting to establish cities a ...
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
pillan
The Pillan (of Mapudungun origin; , plural ) are powerful and respected male spirits in Mapuche mythology.
According to legend, the Pillan are good spirits, but they can also cause disasters, since they also punish (or they allow the ''wekufe'' ...
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 Natural satellite, moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a Fissure vent, fractu ...
s,
landslides
Landslides, also known as landslips, rockslips or rockslides, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, mudflows, shallow or deep-seated slope failures and debris flows. Landslide ...
,
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
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 ...
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
Zapala is a city and touristic destination in the Patagonian province of Neuquén, Argentina with about 32,000 inhabitants according to the .
The city is located at the geographic center of the province at the confluence of national and provincia ...
,
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
Presidente is a brand of Pilsner beer that is owned and produced by Cervecería Nacional Dominicana (CND) at several breweries in the Dominican Republic. In addition to domestic consumption in the Dominican Republic, Presidente is exported to t ...
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
The volcanic explosivity index (VEI) is a scale used to measure the size of explosive volcanic eruptions. It was devised by Christopher G. Newhall of the United States Geological Survey and Stephen Self in 1982.
Volume of products, eruption c ...
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
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 about the climate and the environment which are being provided by NASA for ...
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 ...