The Caldeira Cerro Galán is enormous a Caldeira located in an area distant and very isolated from the province from Catamarca at the North-West from the Argentine, within the Département of Antofagasta of the Sierra, to more or less 50 km in the east of the small town of Antofagasta of the Sierra. It is one of most beautiful and undoubtedly apparent of large will caldeiras of planet.

The geographical coordinates of will caldeira are 25º 57 ' South and 66º 57 ' West.

History

Cerro Galán will caldeira is one of the components of a volcanic great system rich in silica, developed along two important parallel faults separated from a score of kilometers.

The volcanic history of the site is long and complex. Volcanicity in the area began more or less fifteen million years ago with the formation and the eruption of several volcanos andesitic and dacitic. By after the activity of the latter was, as it is usual for volcanos of this kind, primarily explosive and one found the traces of at least 9 major eruptions ignimbritic during one time ranging between -7 and -4 million years.

It has a little more than 2 million two hundred and thousand years, was necessary an explosive eruption which ejecta nearly thousand kilometers cubic (some say two thousand) homogeneous magma of dacitic type, which formed will caldeira it that one can contemplate today.

Will caldeira resulting of more than 700 square kilometers is long 40 km in the 20-25 km North-South and broad direction in the East-West direction. The ignimbritic area resulting extends on a territory having a ray from approximately hundred kilometers around will caldeira. After the formation of will caldeira, there was resurgence of its central part until altitude of 5  912 meters. It is the volcano Cerro Galán. It is made of a layer of 1  200 meters thickness of Ignimbrite.

See also: Cerro Galán

Current description

Currently a small portion in south-west of will caldeira is occupied by the Laguna Diamante, a small lake, which is only the remainder of a vast lake which occupied all will caldeira it there is many years. The lake is in the center of the Réserve of biosphere Laguna Blanca. The western edge of will caldeira reached 5  200 meters of altitude. Its floor is with 4  500 meters.

See also: Reserve of biosphere Laguna Blanca

Current activity in the west of will caldeira

The eruption of small cones of ashes and lava in the valley of Antofagasta of the Sierra, along North-South faults, in the west of will caldeira is spread out over one long period, initially preceding the formation by will caldeira, then according to this one, and that, until our days. Young person of these satellite cones and chimneys probably much less 10  has; 000 years, which is very recent.

Mineral layers

One noted anomalies concerning the Plomb, the Argent, the Zinc, the Or and the Cuivre.

See too

• the Department of Antofagasta of the Sierra.
• the Reserve of biosphere Laguna Blanca
• the volcanic Index of explosiveness
• the List of the volcanos of Argentina
• the Caldeira of Agrio (in province of Neuquén)

External bonds

• Photos of will caldeira Cerro Galán and of the volcano Cerro Galán
• detailed Carte of the province of Catamarca

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