image info

Quemado

Synonyms: None
Location: 18º37'S; 68º45'W
Country: Bolivia
Summit Elevation: 4215m
Edifice Height: 265m
Type: Explosive Silicic Center

Oblique aerial view of Cerro Quemado


Quemado Info

Cerro Quemado, Bolivia (18° 37'S 68° 45'W)

Cerro Quemado is unusual in that it is located well to the east of the main volcanic cordillera, on the flat altiplano of Bolivia. Greeley et al. (1987) made a reconnaissance visit to this volcano during the course of studies on the applications of imaging radar techniques to aeolian deposits. Elliptical in plan, the volcano has a maximum basal diameter of ~6.5 km and an edifice height of some 350 m (Figure M3 a&b). The summit vent area is about 2 x 3.5 km and is a series of coalesced craters with the youngest in the south. The slope of the inner crater walls, which appear to be made up of bedded pyroclastic material, range from ~35° to near vertical. A prominent blocky dome is located in the southernmost and youngest crater and appears to have been the last eruptive product. Cerro Quemado was undoubtedly the result of a major pyroclastic eruption as evidenced by the semi-continous apron of tephra distributed up to 7 km from the volcano. The nature of the eruption is unknown but the morphology of the crater suggests a phreatomagmatic eruption. Tephra derived from Cerro Quemado may form a significant component of prominent aeolian dunes observed on the altiplano south and east of the volcano.


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