Tacora

Coordinates: 17°43′14″S 69°46′22″W / 17.72056°S 69.77278°W / -17.72056; -69.77278
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Tacora
Ultra
Coordinates17°43′14″S 69°46′22″W / 17.72056°S 69.77278°W / -17.72056; -69.77278
Geography
Tacora is located in Chile
Tacora
Tacora
Central Volcanic Zone
Last eruptionUnknown

Tacora is a

Central Volcanic Zone in Chile, one of the four volcanic belts of the Andes. The Central Volcanic Zone has several of the highest volcanoes in the world. Tacora itself is a stratovolcano with a caldera and a crater. The youngest radiometric age is 50,000 years ago and it is heavily eroded by glacial
activity.

Volcanism in the Central Volcanic Zone results from the subduction of the Nazca Plate beneath the South America Plate. Tacora is constructed on the so-called "Arica Altiplano" and is part of a north–south alignment of volcanoes. Tacora itself has uncertain reports of historical eruptions and there are active fumaroles.

The fumarolic activity has resulted in the emplacement of substantial deposits of sulfur, which were already mentioned centuries ago. Towards the latter 19th century, systematic mining of the sulfur deposits of Tacora occurred and substantial mining infrastructure was constructed on the mountain.

Geography and geomorphology

Tacora lies in the Arica y Parinacota Region of Chile, about 100 kilometres (62 mi) northeast of Arica. It is among the northernmost volcanoes of Chile[3] and poorly known.[4]

Tacora is part of the

Alitar, Lascar and Lastarria in Chile, Bolivia and Argentina;[3] there are about 34 volcanoes in the Chilean portion of the Central Volcanic Zone alone.[6] Of these Lascar is considered to be the most active, with a large eruption in 1993.[7] Aside from volcanoes, the Central Volcanic Zone also features geothermal fields such as El Tatio.[4]

The volcano is a 5,980 metres (19,620 ft) high

eroded[13] with about 32 metres (105 ft) of rocks gone[14] but still has a circular shape.[13] There are traces of a sector collapse scar and of the resulting debris avalanche on the southeastern flank.[12]

According to some reports

last glacial maximum, an older one at 4,500 metres (14,800 ft) elevation and a third at 4,900 metres (16,100 ft) elevation which may have formed during the Little Ice Age;[13] moraines reach thicknesses of 200 metres (660 ft).[8] There is an additional set of moraines at 4,350–4,300 metres (14,270–14,110 ft) elevation that has been correlated to pre-last glacial maximum glaciations,[16] as well as traces of ice cored moraines and rock glaciers.[17] Some rock glaciers still exist; unlike other glacial bodies in Chile the fronts of rock glaciers on Tacora are not retreating.[18]

The mountain is an important source of water for the region.

Mauri Canal and Uchusuma Canal run along the southeastern slopes.[22]

On the western and northwestern flanks,

hot springs are located 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) southwest of the volcano.[3] Further, geyserite cones indicate that geysers were formerly active on the volcano.[23] Seismic tomography has been used to image both the hydrothermal systems and magma systems of the volcano,[24] and Tacora has been prospected for geothermal power generation.[25] In 2009, the Chilean Ministry of Mining recorded bids for geothermal development at Tacora,[26] and one bid was approved by the Ministry in early 2010.[27]

Fumaroles

Fumarole gases are dominated by

water vapour with other components including carbon dioxide, hydrogen chloride, hydrogen fluoride, hydrogen sulfide, nitrogen and sulfur dioxide. Hydrogen, methane and other hydrocarbons are also common in the exhalations. The temperatures of the fumaroles reach 82–93 °C (180–199 °F)[10] and daily sulfur dioxide emissions have been estimated to be 0.01–0.02 tonnes per day (0.12–0.23 g/s) in the major fumaroles.[28]

The fumarolic gases are interpreted to originate by the evaporation of an

seismic activity below the eastern flank may also be correlated to a fluid system at depth.[33]

Geology

Austral Volcanic Zone, lies south of the Southern Volcanic Zone.[5] These volcanically active belts are separated by gaps where recent volcanism is absent and the subducting plate descends in a much shallower angle.[34]

Volcanoes of the Peruvian Central Volcanic Zone generally occur within a narrow belt and are usually associated with

igneous activity limited to about 6.[37]

The earliest volcanic activity in northern Chile occurred between 41 and 66 million years ago, and is linked to an ancient

composite volcanoes, with vigorous activity during the Pliocene and Pleistocene.[38]

Local

The basement beneath Tacora is formed by the Arica Altiplano, a

reverse fault passes underneath the volcano; it also extends into Peru where it belongs to the active Incapuquio–Challaviento fault system.[39]

Composition

The volcano is composed of

clinopyroxene;[11] alteration has led to the formation of clays. The volcanic rocks are subdivided into two units, an andesitic-dacitic one that forms the bulk of the volcano dacitic lava dome.[8]

Eruptive history

Tacora was active during the

potassium-argon dating giving an age of 490,000 years before present,[11] an age often given to the entire volcano,[16] as well as another of 50,000 years before present on the upper western flank.[12] Other dating efforts have yielded ages of 340,000 ± 60,000 and 363,000 ± 7,000 years ago.[8] The crater and lava flows on the southern flank are probably the most recent manifestations of volcanic activity.[3]

The volcano supposedly "collapsed" in the 1877 Iquique earthquake, according to secondhand information in a 1903 report on earthquakes in Chile.[40] Single reports of activity in 1830, 1930, 1937, 1939 and 1950 exist,[12][41] but the volcano is considered to have no historic eruptions, with fumaroles[7] and seismicity the only ongoing activity.[12] Renewed activity is likely to mostly affect the southern, eastern and western slopes of the volcano. In particular the town of Tacora would be threatened, while pyroclastic fallout could impact more distant towns such as Visviri.[41]

Mining and sulfur

Sulfur is found between Tacora and Chupiquiña, and it has been quarried on the northwestern flank.[3] Sulfur deposits on Tacora are among the largest in Chile, with thick layers of sulfur covering surfaces of 0.2–0.3 square kilometres (0.077–0.116 sq mi) in the crater and on the northern and eastern slopes.[42] Fumarolic activity is to this day producing new sulfur deposits,[23] and some sulfur deposits may have been originally emplaced as liquid sulfur.[43]

Such sulfur deposits are relatively common on volcanoes of northern Chile, with less common occurrence in the other volcanically active parts of the Chilean Andes;

hydrothermal alteration of rock formations. These colours can be spotted from large distances. Aside from sulfur, such deposits commonly contain antimony, arsenic, selenium and tellurium;[46] acid mine drainage occurs on the volcano and has resulted in pollution of the Azufre River within the Lluta River watershed.[47]

The earliest records of the sulfur bodies on Tacora date back to 1637.[48] Sulfur mining in Chile commenced in the late 19th century, driven by Peruvian, English and Chilean prospectors[49] and because the world demand of sulfur by the chemical industry and for other uses increased substantially at that time.[50] During the early 20th century, sulfur mining was widespread in northern Chile and of high global importance,[51] a number of highly pure deposits of sulfur can be found in northern Chile from the Peruvian border south to the Puna de Atacama region.[52]

A. Barrón, Filomeno Cerda, Luis Koch and Rosa Landaeta owned sulfur deposits on Tacora in 1897, and sulfur processing plants were installed in 1888 and 1900 close to Tacora. Several companies mined in the region, which later were sometimes taken over by foreign corporations.

cableways, offices, workers' camps and treatment plants both on the mountain and on its foot.[50] The deposits were named Aguas Calientes, Ancara, Chislluma, Santa Elena and Villa Industrial,[55] and the total sulfur ore deposits of Tacora in 1952 were estimated to be 2,000,000 tonnes (2,000,000 long tons; 2,200,000 short tons) at a minimum;[56] in 1922 Tacora was considered the most important sulfur deposit of the Andes.[57]

Transport of sulfur occurred through a dedicated

Arica-La Paz railway,[58] which served the further transport of the sulfur[48] to Arica, from where it was shipped to all of South America;[59] only after the opening of this railway in 1913 was it possible to use the Tacora deposits to the fullest extent.[50] It is worth noting that the 1929 border treaty between Peru and Chile had explicitly placed Tacora's sulfur deposits entirely within Chilean territory.[59]

The workforce of the Tacora mines was largely indigenous in origin, seeing as only indigenous people were used to the extreme climate conditions on the upper slopes of Tacora. The mining operations also played an important political-cultural role, as they exemplified the imposition of a new, modern culture onto the region.[50]

Mythology

The religious worship of mountains is widespread in the Central Andes. In local belief, Tacora and

Nevados de Payachata). Depending on the specific myth either the two women drove Tacora off and removed the top of the mountain, or Sajama did and injured Tacora; Tacora subsequently fled, shedding blood and a piece of its heart.[60]

Botanics

The

type locality.[61] The flowering plant Pycnophyllum macropetalum likewise has its type locality at Tacora.[62]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Tacora". Global Volcanism Program. Smithsonian Institution.
  2. ^ "Tacora". Andes Specialists. Retrieved 2020-04-12.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Capaccioni et al. 2011, p. 78.
  4. ^ a b c d e Capaccioni et al. 2011, p. 77.
  5. ^ a b Silva & Francis 1990, p. 287.
  6. ^ Tamburello et al. 2014, p. 4961.
  7. ^
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  8. ^ a b c d e Pavez et al. 2019, p. 2.
  9. ^ "IGM Chile". IGM Chile. Page "Aguas Calientes" 50000:1. 14 April 2020. Retrieved 14 April 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  10. ^ a b Capaccioni et al. 2011, p. 79.
  11. ^ a b c Wörner et al. 1994, p. 81.
  12. ^
    SERNAGEOMIN. p. 28. Archived from the original
    (PDF) on May 13, 2018. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  13. ^ a b c Oregon State University. "Tacora". Volcano World.
  14. ^ Heine 2019, p. 274.
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  16. ^ a b Heine 2019, p. 271.
  17. ^ Heine 2019, p. 277.
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  24. Bibcode:2016EGUGA..1810718P
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  25. doi:10.1016/j.geothermics.2015.09.001
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  26. ^ "Exitoso proceso de licitación de 20 concesiones de exploración geotérmica en Chile". Electricidad (in Spanish). 27 August 2009.
  27. ^ "Entregan siete nuevas concesiones geotérmicas en la Segunda Región". El Mercurio de Antofagasta (in Spanish). 20 January 2010. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
  28. ^ a b Clavero, J.; Soler, V.; Amigo, A. (August 2006). "Caracterización preliminar de la actividad sísmica y de desgasificación pasiva de volcanes activos de los Andes Centrales del norte de Chile" (PDF). 11th Chilean Geological Congress (in Spanish). Archived from the original (PDF) on June 5, 2016. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  29. ^ Capaccioni et al. 2011, p. 80.
  30. ^ Capaccioni et al. 2011, p. 84.
  31. ^ Pavez et al. 2019, p. 10.
  32. ^ Tamburello et al. 2014, p. 4964.
  33. ^ Pavez et al. 2019, p. 9.
  34. ^ Wörner et al. 1994, p. 79.
  35. ^ Silva & Francis 1990, p. 299.
  36. ^ Silva & Francis 1990, p. 300.
  37. ^ a b Ferraris & Vila 1990, p. 692.
  38. ^ Ferraris & Vila 1990, p. 691,692.
  39. ^ Pavez et al. 2019, p. 4.
  40. ^ Goll, Friedrich; Dessauer, Heinrich von (1903). Die Erdbeben Chiles : ein Verzeichnis der Erdbeben und Vulkanausbruche in Chile, bis zum Jahre 1879 (Inkl.) nebst einigen Allgemeinen Bemerkungen zu diesen Erdbeben (in German). Muenchen : Theodore Ackermann. p. 57.
  41. ^
    ISSN 0717-7305. Archived from the original
    (PDF) on June 29, 2021. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  42. ^ Ferraris & Vila 1990, p. 697.
  43. ISSN 0718-7106
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  44. ^ Ferraris & Vila 1990, p. 691.
  45. ^ Rudolph 1952, p. 568.
  46. ^ Ferraris & Vila 1990, p. 696.
  47. S2CID 103728364
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  48. ^ a b c Rudolph 1952, p. 567.
  49. ^ Araya, Salazar & Soto 2016, p. 69.
  50. ^
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  51. ^ Rudolph 1952, p. 562.
  52. ^ Rudolph 1952, p. 565.
  53. ^ Araya, Salazar & Soto 2016, p. 70.
  54. ^ Araya, Salazar & Soto 2016, p. 75.
  55. ^ Araya, Salazar & Soto 2016, p. 72.
  56. ^ Rudolph 1952, p. 569.
  57. ^ York, American Geographical Society of New (1922). Map of Hispanic America Publication. American Geographical Society of New York. p. 57. tacora.
  58. ^ Rudolph 1952, p. 579.
  59. ^ a b Araya, Salazar & Soto 2016, p. 71.
  60. ISSN 0717-7356
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  61. S2CID 84811213
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  62. S2CID 19078812
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Sources

External links
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