Bolivia	image info
	Tata Sabaya
Synonyms: None
Location: 19º08'S; 68º32'W
Type: Composite
Summit Elevation: 5430m (5385m)
Edifice Height: 1700m
Status: unknown

One of the few potentially active volcanoes wholly within Bolivia, Tata Sabaya, is located on the northern shores of the Salar de Coipasa, on the Bolivian Altiplano(Figure 13.1;13.2). It is a symmetrical composite cone which is part of the E-W trending chain of edifices stretching from Cerro Pariani (Sacasani) in the east to Volcan Isluga (q.v.) to the west in Chile. Much the most prominent feature of the volcano is a large Holocene débris avalanche (DF) which appears to have crossed glacial lake terraces and spilled out across the Salar de Coipasa covering more than 300 square kilometers (Francis & Ramirez, 1985; Francis & Wells, 1988). A 200 m high remnant of the avalanche detachment scarp (ADS) is present on the SE flank, but the amphitheater left by the collapse has otherwise been entirely filled by younger lavas. A small levée ridge left by the avalanche runs south eastwards across the lower flanks of the adjacent volcano, Cerro Pariani (Sacasani). The distal margin of the avalanche deposit is not preserved. Young lava flows (LF) are found on the western half of the edifice. No information is available about the historic activity of the volcano. Although lava flow morphologies are well preserved on the volcano, they are not pristine, and it appears that there has been no activity within the last several hundred years at least. Geochemistry Deruelle & Brousse (1984) reported the presence of high-K andesite lavas and pumice from the area of the volcano and described prismatic jointed blocks which they attributed to a nuée ardente erupted from the volcano, but did not recognise the débris avalanche deposit.. Francis & Ramirez (1985) suggested that the prismatic jointed blocks they noted may have been juvenile material erupted during the collapse event.

There is no evidence of activity from the volcano (R. Carrasco, personal communication, 1989).

Deruelle, B., & Brousse, R., 1984. "Nuée ardente" deposits at Tata Sabaya volcano (Bolivian-Chilean Andes): pumices and lava blocks crystallized from a single magma at different depths. Rev. Geol. Chile. 22:3-15

Francis, P.W., & Ramirez, C.F., 1985 "Nuée ardente" deposits at Tata Sabaya volcano: a re-interpretation. Rev. Geol. Chile 24:107-110

Francis, P.W., & Wells G.L., 1988 Landsat Thematic Mapper Observations of débris avalanche deposits in the Central Andes. Bull Volcanol. 50:258-278.