Licancabur

Coordinates: 22°50′2″S 67°53′1″W / 22.83389°S 67.88361°W / -22.83389; -67.88361
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Licancabur
Highest point
Elevation5,916 m (19,409 ft)
Prominence1,426 m (4,678 ft) Edit this on Wikidata
Coordinates22°50′2″S 67°53′1″W / 22.83389°S 67.88361°W / -22.83389; -67.88361
Geography
Licancabur is located in Bolivia
Licancabur
Licancabur
Location of Licancabur
Location
pre-Columbian
Easiest routeHike

Licancabur (Spanish pronunciation:

arid climate
. Numerous animal species and plants live on the mountain.

Licancabur formed atop of

lava flows emanate from the edifice and have a young appearance. Although no historic eruptions of the volcano are known, lava flows extending into Laguna Verde have been dated to 13,240 ± 100 BP and there may be residual heat in the mountain. The volcano has primarily erupted andesite, with small amounts of dacite and basaltic andesite
.

Several

Inca or Atacama people
for religious and cultural ceremonies, and are among the most important in the region. The mountain is the subject of a number of myths, which view it as the husband of another mountain, the hiding place of Inca or the burial of an Inca king.

Name and importance

The name Licancabur comes from the Kunza language,[1] where lican means "people" or "town" and cábur/[2] caur, caure or cauri "mountain";[3] it may refer to the archaeological sites at the mountain.[4] The name of the volcano has also been translated as "upper village".[5] Other names are Licancáguar,[2] Licancaur (which is another orthography),[4] Tata Likanku[6] and Volcán de Atacama.[7]

It is one of the best known volcanoes of Bolivia and Chile

telecommunication[15] and Mars-like environments[a] has been conducted at Licancabur.[16]

Geography and geomorphology

The volcano is in the Puna de Atacama[19]/Cordillera Occidental of the Andes. Politically, it is located in the Antofagasta Region of Chile[20] and the Potosí Department of Bolivia;[18] the border goes over Licancabur[b].[8] Less than 20 kilometres (12 mi) south is the Llano del Chajnantor Observatory.[22] San Pedro de Atacama is 32 kilometres (20 mi) west[1] of Licancabur while the adjacent region in Bolivia is largely uninhabited.[12] The border crossing Paso de Jama and the Chile Route 27 between Argentina and Chile pass along the southern foot of Licancabur.[23][24] In 1953, a road led to 4,300 metres (14,000 ft) elevation.[2]

Aerial view of Licancabur Lake, surrounded by a snow-covered inwards-sloping crater
Licancabur Lake at the bottom of the crater

Licancabur is a 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) high and 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) wide

summit crater.[30] The 70 by 90 metres (230 ft × 300 ft)[25] freshwater Licancabur Lake[31] in the crater is one of the highest lakes in the world.[32] The western slopes are better developed than the eastern. The total volume of the volcano is about 35 cubic kilometres (8.4 cu mi)[8] or 44 cubic kilometres (11 cu mi),[33] formed by layers of lava and pyroclastics.[27] There are traces of lahars.[34]

Young-looking

debris avalanche deposit is found on the western side of Licancabur.[20] The slopes of the mountain are notably unstable.[36]

Licancabur, against a blue sky across the Laguna Verde salt lake
Licancabur across Laguna Verde at more than 4000m elevation

The landscape around the volcano consists of basins separated by mountain chains.[37] At the northeastern foot of Licancabur is Laguna Verde.[38] The mountain is part of the drainage divide between the Altiplano and the Salar de Atacama.[39] Southwest of Licancabur are the Vilama and San Pedro rivers, which flow to San Pedro de Atacama.[40]

Geology

Starting in the

Altiplano-Puna volcanic complex, one of the largest ignimbrite provinces on Earth.[45] Licancabur is part of the southern CVZ,[46] where there are over a thousand volcanoes.[47] Older (Miocene) volcanoes are widespread, while Pleistocene-Holocene systems are concentrated in the main volcanic chain.[48] Lascar erupts every few years.[49]

The volcanic chain continues north[26] across Portezuelo Chaxas mountain pass,[50] beginning with Sairecabur.[38] To the southeast is 5,704 metres (18,714 ft) high[7] Juriques, which formed during the Pleistocene and has a 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) wide summit crater;[25] the two volcanoes form an offset in the volcanic chain.[51] Farther south next to Portezuelo del Cajon[24] is Cerro Toco of the Purico complex.[19] The Chaxas lava dome was active during the Pliocene, forming ignimbrites that are now buried under Licancabur.[32]

The volcano is on the edge between the

rhyodacitic composition.[32] Ignimbrites crop out in gorges south of Licancabur.[53] Faults associated with the Calama-Olacapato-El Toro lineament cut through the basement in southeast direction[8] and probably influenced the growth of Licancabur and Juriques.[51] Some faults were active during the Holocene.[54]

Composition

orthopyroxene are subordinate.[8] Crystals often form aggregates.[35] Xenoliths of gabbro are found within the rocks.[46] Unlike many neighbouring volcanoes, Licancabur lacks sulfur deposits.[1]

The magmas that built Licancabur formed through melting of altered oceanic crust[58] in the slab at 50–100 kilometres (31–62 mi) depth,[59] which in turn leads to melting in the mantle wedge that gives rise to the Licancabur magmas.[58] Assimilation of continental crustal rocks[58] and fractional crystallization of amphibole and garnet would explain trace element patterns.[59] The magmas were stored in a magma chamber, where crystals formed.[60]

Climate and vegetation

Llamas
and vegetation in front of Licancabur

The climate is cold, dry, windy with low

insolation rate.[d][71]

Plants growing on Licancabur include grasses,

cacti at low elevations.[72][73] There is a vertical structure, with cushion plants and tussocks dominating between 3,850–4,200 metres (12,630–13,780 ft) elevation, widely spaced shrubs between 2,700–3,100 metres (8,900–10,200 ft), and the highest plant density found between these belts.[29] Some areas are used as pastures.[74] Isolated wetlands occur at the foot of the volcano.[75]

The fauna includes birds (

flies),[73] lizards (Liolaemus audituvelatus, Liolaemus barbarae, Liolaemus constanzae, Liolaemus fabiani and Liolaemus puritamensis),[79] mammals (Andean hairy armadillo,[80] chinchilla,[73] culpeo, guanaco, southern vizcacha and vicuña)[81] and toads (Telmatobius vilamensis).[77] The Bolivian sector is part of the Eduardo Avaroa Andean Fauna National Reserve.[82] In Chile, there were plans to create a protected area including Licancabur and El Tatio, but as of 2018 no progress had been made.[83]

Eruption history

The volcano formed mostly during the

debris avalanche deposits and moraines.[46] Activity at Licancabur impacted the environment at Laguna Verde, causing changes in water chemistry.[85]

An explosive eruption took place at some point, producing pyroclastic flows.[20] The flank lava flows are the most recent activity.[25] There are no known historical[8] or Holocene eruptions,[86] and the preservation of Inca ruins in the summit crater implies that it has been inactive for 600–1000 years.[27] However, the elevated temperatures of the summit crater lake imply there is still heat in the volcano,[87] and lava flows overran 13,240 ± 100 years old shorelines at Laguna Verde.[85]

Licancabur is considered to be potentially active owing to its good preservation.

SERNAGEOMIN deems it a low-hazard volcano, Chile's 68th most dangerous volcano out of 87 as of 2023.[88] Future eruptive processes will probably involve the emission of lava or pyroclastic flows from the summit and the flanks of Licancabur, especially the western one. The volcano is remote from inhabited areas and pyroclastic fallout would be of limited extent.[87] Impacts may extend to Argentina.[89]

Archaeology and religious importance

Prehistoric manmade constructions are widespread on the mountains of the region, including Licancabur and Juriques.[90] The complex on Licancabur includes multiple structures with mostly semicircular or rectangular shapes[91] and a ceremonial platform,[92] all in the eastern part of the crater.[91] The structures may have had had roofs[93] and are built like pircas (no mortar).[94] Reports in 1887[95] and 1955 mention piles of wood.[94] A semicircle of stones surrounding an upright stone has been compared to an altar, ushnu.[96] The summit sites were presumably used for equinox and solstice feasts.[97] Notably, no human sacrifices (capacocha) are associated with Licancabur.[92]

Inca ruins
Ruins at the foot of Licancabur

Another site, Tambo de Licancabur

tambo, an Inca waystation, on the road between San Pedro de Atacama and Inca territories in present-day Bolivia. This interpretation is not mutually exclusive with the former.[111][101] The whole Licancabur complex was one of the most important in the region,[107] and may have been part of a wider regional religious centre.[112] The archaeological sites on Licancabur are sometimes interpreted to be part of a lookout system for the region,[113][114] or as a symbol of Inca dominance in the San Pedro de Atacama area.[115] The Inca road passed at the foot of the volcano,[116] making the site easily accessible.[103]

The mountain was worshipped by the Atacameno[1] and Inca[101] until the 20th century.[2] Licancabur was important in local cultural rituals,[117] and is to this day used in culturally important events.[118] At least one burial in a local cemetery was oriented to Licancabur.[119]

There are several legends tied to the mountain: The male Licancabur was married to female Quimal in the

copulation.[122] In the local Atacameno mythology the mountain controls fire (and San Pedro water),[123] while in Socaire's mythology it is a source of water.[124] In another myth Licancabur is the tomb of a legless Inca king[125] that was carried around the region in a litter.[126] A final tale says that once, the crater lake had fresh water. When Inca fled from white people to Licancabur, they hid their treasures. The waters of the lake turned bitter and its colour green.[127] Ascending the mountain was considered taboo,[2] and the mountain vigorously defends against violations of its summit;[97] allegedly the 1953 Calama earthquake was in retaliation for the ascent of the mountain in that year.[94] Whether there are legends of Inca treasury associated with Licancabur[97] is unclear.[2]

Ascent

Licancabur seen from a tree-lined town road
Licancabur, seen from the town of San Pedro de Atacama

The mountain was first ascended by the Inca or the Atacameno people.[94] The first documented ascent was by Severo Titichoca in November 1884,[128] and the first by Westerners in 22 November 1953 by a group of engineers in Chuquicamata,[2] which reached the summit from the northwest.[2]

Licancabur is frequently climbed from the Bolivian side. It can be ascended year round, although more caution is needed during winter. Ascents take six hours, descents about half that.[127] There is a wide panorama from the summit.[129] Bad weather can develop quickly,[30] and ascending Licancabur is difficult owing to the unstable slopes of the upper cone.[130]

Notes

  1. ^ The environment around Licancabur may be the closest equivalent to Mars that exists on Earth,[16] and present-day conditions at the lakes around Licancabur may resemble these that formerly existed at lakes on Mars.[17][18]
  2. ^ Licancabur is explicitly mentioned in the Treaty of Valparaiso that establishes the border.[21]
  3. ^ Other elevations have been reported,[28][26] including heights exceeding 6,000 metres (20,000 ft).[29]
  4. Earth's atmosphere[69] even accounting for UV radiation reflected by clouds.[70]
  5. ^ A species of cuckoo bee has been named after the volcano.[78]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Rudolph 1955, p. 153.
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  3. ^ Garrido & Ballester 2021, p. 39.
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  5. ^ Bobylyova & Сергеевна 2016, p. 126.
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Sources

Bibliography

External links

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