page_title: Taapaca
section_title: Threats and preparedness
hierarchical_section_title: Taapaca / Threats and preparedness
caption_attribution_description: Putre - calle principal
context_page_description: Taapaca is a Holocene volcanic complex in northern Chile's Arica y Parinacota Region. Located in the Chilean Andes, it is part of the Central Volcanic Zone of the Andean Volcanic Belt, one of four distinct volcanic chains in South America. The town of Putre lies at the southwestern foot of the volcano.
  Like other volcanoes of the Central Volcanic Zone, Taapaca formed from the subduction of the Nazca Plate beneath the South America Plate. It lies on the western margin of the Altiplano high plateau, on top of older volcanic and sedimentary units. Taapaca has mainly erupted dacite, in the form of numerous lava domes, although an andesitic stratovolcano is also present.
  Volcanic activity at Taapaca occurred in several stages starting during the Plio-Pleistocene. The emplacement of lava domes was often followed by their collapse and the formation of block-and-ash avalanches, and parts of the volcano underwent sector collapses. It was at first assumed that activity ended during the Pleistocene, but late eruptions occurred until 2,300 years ago; the latest is dated to 320 BCE.
context_section_description: Most of the volcanoes in northern Chile are far from towns and inhabited areas and thus their activity does not create significant human hazards. Putre is constructed on pyroclastic deposits of the Taapaca, facing a threat from future eruptions. A highway (Chile Route 11 between La Paz and Arica) linking Bolivia with the Pacific Ocean is also in range on the southern flank, while the road to Visviri in Peru runs along the southwestern and western flanks. Additional areas within range of Taapaca are the towns of Socoroma and Zapahuira, as well as the Oruro Department in Bolivia. The danger is accentuated by the fact that Holocene activity has affected mainly the southwestern flank, where Putre is located. The average time between eruptions at Taapaca is about 450 years.
  Future activity at Taapaca could result in further sector collapses when magma is injected into the edifice and deforms it, to the point that the volcano becomes unstable. Likewise, if lava domes are extruded onto the volcano they could generate block and ash flows as well as both primary and secondary pyroclastic flows. Eruptions between April and November (when the volcano is covered by snow) might generate lahars, as could rainfall during the wet season between December and March; the latter type of lahar happens frequently on present-day Taapaca owing to the steep slopes of the volcano, although it usually results solely in road damage.
  The Chilean SERNAGEOMIN geological service monitors the volcano and shows a volcano hazard level for it. It also publishes a hazard map for Taapaca, which shows risk areas for lava bomb falls, pyroclastic flows and tephra fallout.
caption: View down a road in Putre
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