Aucanquilcha

About

Aucanquilcha is a large compound volcano in the Antofagasta Region of northern Chile, within the Central Volcanic Zone of the Andes. The volcano has the form of a ridge with a maximum height of 6,176 metres (20, 262 ft) and formed between 1.04 and 0.23 million years ago; there is ongoing fumarolic activity. The volcano is part of a larger cluster of volcanoes, including lava domes and lava flows, which formed in several stages over 11 million years of activity with varying magma output. During the ice ages, Aucanquilcha was covered in an ice cap that left moraines and cirques. The cluster has generated lava ranging in composition from andesite to dacite, with the main Aucanquilcha volcano having produced dacites exclusively. Systematic variations in temperature, crystal and biotite content have been recorded during the evolution of the cluster, reflecting changes in the crust from dispersed magma chambers to a centralized volcanic system. The volcano has sulfur deposits in its summit area, which were mined in the past. One mine at an altitude of 5,950 metres (19, 520 ft) was opened in 1913 and remained in use from 1950 to 1992, constituting at that time the world's highest mine. As part of this mining activity, infrastructure like a road and an aerial cableway were built on Aucanquilcha, which still stand today although they are partially unusable. In 1986, four men were reporte

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