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Licancabur


Licancabur is a highly symmetrical stratovolcano on the southernmost part of the border between Chile and Bolivia. It is located just southwest of Laguna Verde in Bolivia and northwest of Juriques volcano. The volcano dominates the landscape of the Salar de Atacama area. The summit crater is about 400 m wide and contains a 70 by 90 m crater lake, Lago Licancabur, which is ice-covered most of the year. This is one of the highest lakes in the world, and despite air temperatures which can drop to -30 C, it contains planktonic fauna.

Licancabur's most recent volcanic activity produced extensive lava flows which extend 6 km down the northwest and southwest flanks, with older lava flows reaching 15 km and pyroclastic flow deposits as far as 12 km from the peak. Extensive Inca ruins are located at the summit, providing proof of pre-Columbian ascents as well as evidence for a lack of major eruptions over the past 5001,000 years.

Naming

The word Licancabur is the Castilianization of a Kunza name used by the Atacameno people to refer to the volcano, which means "Mountain of the People."

See also

Sairecabur

Purico Complex

Putana Volcano

Tocorpuri

Llano de Chajnantor Observatory

List of volcanoes in Bolivia

List of volcanoes in Chile

References

NASA Licancabur Expedition: Exploring the Highest Lakes on Earth

The Highest Lakes in the World

External links

Licancabur, tour 2003

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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Licancabur


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