Geologic Background:
Puyehue is a Quaternary volcano located near the
Liquine-Reloncavi fault zone about 20 km SE of Cordillera
Nevada. Puyehue is a late-Pleistocene to Holocene
basaltic-to-rhyolitic stratovolcano that is the
southernmost and most prominent feature of a NW-SE
volcanic chain SE of Lago Ranco. Flat-topped, 2236-m-high
Puyehue is constructed above a 5-km-wide caldera and is
capped by a 2.4-km-wide summit caldera. Historical
eruptions originally attributed to Puyehue are now known
to be from the Cordon Caulle rift zoneThe summit caldera
of Puyehue was formed during the Holocene. The latest
eruptions, all from flank vents, produced dacitic lava
flows down the west flank, andesitic lava flows on the
southern and eastern flanks, and a pyroclastic cone on
the southern flank.
The Cordon Caulle
group extends from Cordillera Nevada Caldera SE towards
Puyehue and are sometimes grouped with Puyehue, but they
are tectonically and magmatically distinct from each
other.
Historic Activity:
Recent Activity:
Data Sources:
- Global Volcanism Network (V. 19, No. 5).
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