Volcano Nevados Ojos del Salado
Chile
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In an area where the Andes Mountains reach 6,000 meters, the Ojos del Salado Volcano, which looks more like a pillar on the 'roof of America' and stands out because of its height and because it is still active. The place where it is located is of volcanic nature and one of the largest sulfur deposits in the world. It is located in the wildest and loneliest region of the Chilean Andes, only comparable to the Himalayas or Tibet.
It is one of the best places in Chile for mountaineering. Its ascent is a goal for climbers from all over the world who visit it every year during the mountain season, which goes from November to March. For those who do not have experience in this type of activity, the invitation is to marvel at its slopes, where it is possible to access by the international route CH-31.
The world's highest active volcano, Nevados Ojos del Salado, rises to 6,879 m along the Chile-Argentina border. The volcano lies about 20 km south of the road that crosses the international border at Paso de San Francisco. The summit complex, which is elongated in a NE-SW direction and overlies a largely buried caldera, contains numerous craters, pyroclastic cones and andesitic-to-rhyolitic lava domes and has been the source of Holocene lava flows. A major rhyodacitic explosive eruption about 1000-1500 years ago produced pumiceous pyroclastic flows.
The most recent eruptive activity appears to have originated along a NNE-trending rift along the summit complex. It involved formation of a thick, viscous lava flow and at least a dozen small cones, lava domes, and explosion craters. No confirmed historical eruptions have been recorded, but the volcano has displayed persistent fumarolic activity, and there was an unconfirmed report of minor gas-and-ash emission in 1993.
It is one of the best places in Chile for mountaineering. Its ascent is a goal for climbers from all over the world who visit it every year during the mountain season, which goes from November to March. For those who do not have experience in this type of activity, the invitation is to marvel at its slopes, where it is possible to access by the international route CH-31.
The world's highest active volcano, Nevados Ojos del Salado, rises to 6,879 m along the Chile-Argentina border. The volcano lies about 20 km south of the road that crosses the international border at Paso de San Francisco. The summit complex, which is elongated in a NE-SW direction and overlies a largely buried caldera, contains numerous craters, pyroclastic cones and andesitic-to-rhyolitic lava domes and has been the source of Holocene lava flows. A major rhyodacitic explosive eruption about 1000-1500 years ago produced pumiceous pyroclastic flows.
The most recent eruptive activity appears to have originated along a NNE-trending rift along the summit complex. It involved formation of a thick, viscous lava flow and at least a dozen small cones, lava domes, and explosion craters. No confirmed historical eruptions have been recorded, but the volcano has displayed persistent fumarolic activity, and there was an unconfirmed report of minor gas-and-ash emission in 1993.
