page_title: El Tatio
hierarchical_section_title: El Tatio
caption_attribution_description: Español: Géiseres del Tatio, San Pedro de Atacama, Chile English: Geysers of Tatio, San Pedro de Atacama, Chile
context_page_description: El Tatio is a geyser field located in the Andes Mountains of northern Chile at 4,320 metres above mean sea level. Various etymologies have been proposed for the name "El Tatio", which might mean "oven" or "grandfather". It is the third-largest geyser field in the world and the largest in the Southern Hemisphere.
  El Tatio lies at the western foot of a series of stratovolcanoes, which run along the border between Chile and Bolivia. This series of volcanoes is part of the Central Volcanic Zone, one of several volcanic belts in the Andes, and there are no recorded historical eruptions at the Tatio volcanoes. El Tatio is also part of the Altiplano–Puna volcanic complex, a system of large calderas and associated ignimbrites, which have been the sources of supereruptions. Some of these calderas may be the source of heat for the El Tatio geothermal system.
  El Tatio is a geothermal field with many geysers, hot springs, and associated sinter deposits. These hot springs eventually form the Rio Salado, a major tributary of the Rio Loa, and a major source of arsenic pollution in the river.
context_section_description: El Tatio is a geyser field located in the Andes Mountains of northern Chile at 4,320 metres (14,170 ft) above mean sea level. Various etymologies have been proposed for the name "El Tatio", which might mean "oven" or "grandfather". It is the third-largest geyser field in the world and the largest in the Southern Hemisphere.
  El Tatio lies at the western foot of a series of stratovolcanoes, which run along the border between Chile and Bolivia. This series of volcanoes is part of the Central Volcanic Zone, one of several volcanic belts in the Andes, and there are no recorded historical eruptions at the Tatio volcanoes. El Tatio is also part of the Altiplano–Puna volcanic complex (APVC), a system of large calderas and associated ignimbrites, which have been the sources of supereruptions. Some of these calderas may be the source of heat for the El Tatio geothermal system.
  El Tatio is a geothermal field with many geysers, hot springs, and associated sinter deposits. These hot springs eventually form the Rio Salado, a major tributary of the Rio Loa, and a major source of arsenic pollution in the river. The vents are sites of populations of extremophile microorganisms and have been studied as analogs for the early Earth and possible past life on Mars.
  The field is a major tourism destination in northern Chile. It was prospected over the last century for the potential of geothermal power production, but development efforts were discontinued after a major incident in 2009 in which drilling well blew out, creating a steam column.
caption: El Tatio geyser field
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