Llullaillaco is a stratovolcano at the border of Argentina (province of Salta) and Chile. It lies in the Puna de Atacama, a region of very high volcanic peaks on a high plateau within the Atacama Desert, one of the driest places in the world. Llullaillaco is the second highest active volcano in the world, surpassed only by Ojos del Salado. It is the fifth highest volcano in the world, and it is also the seventh highest mountain of the Western Hemisphere.Andes 6000m peak list

Llullaillaco follows the typical Puna de Atacama volcano pattern: it is surrounded by large debris fields, and is perpetually capped by snow and small glaciers despite the extreme dry conditions of the region.

The peak's name comes from Aymara "murky water": llulla! dirty and yacu water. Other sources propose it to have originated from Quechua Lullac! lie, Yacu water: "lying (or treacherous) water".

It has been confirmed that Incas climbed Llullaillaco in the pre-Colombian period. Artifacts on the summit constitute the highest evidence of human presence worldwide before the late nineteenth century. Also, the huaqueros may have also reached its summit and those of other mountains in the region during their searches.

Climbing routes

There are several climbing routes which do not require specialized climbing techniques, although the altitude imposes great difficulty and is by itself a very dangerous factor. Crampons and ice axe are needed as most paths cross large hard snow and ice fields.

However, the area is known to be covered by antipersonnel mines installed during the Argentina-Chile conflict period of 1978-1982, thus rendering it extremely dangerous. Experienced local guidance and absolute caution is mandatory.

History

In 1999 on Llullaillaco's summit, an Argentinian-Peruvian expedition directed by American archaeologist Dr. Johan Reinhard found the perfectly preserved bodies of three Inca children, sacrificed approximately 500 years ago. This is the highest Inca burial so far discovered in Tawantinsuyu and the world's highest archaeological site. These amazing examples are now been exhibited in the province of Salta, Argentina at the MAAM( Museo Arqueologico de Alta Montana). 5/9/07

Geology

Two major evolutionary stages can be highlighted in the history of the volcano: Llullaillaco I, the ancestral primary volcano, dates back to the Pleistocene. Two very eroded cones with associated lava flows, up to 20 km in length distributed mainly to the West, are the main evidence of its existence.

Built upon it there is a well preserved secondary post-glacial edifice called Llullaillaco II which has been active in historic times, whose construction yielded the grown up of several nearby lava domes. Many Holocene lava flows are associated with this latter phase; the two most notable are directed North and South of the volcano. These youthful-looking dacitic flows have been dated to be of late Pleistocene age. Moreover hot avalanche deposits, extending up to 3 km, are associated with one of the southern lava flows. There are still other very conspicuous flows remaining: one of the most striking, apparently caused by partial collapse of Lullaillaco I about 150,000 years ago, extends eastward into Argentina, diverging around Cerro Rosado stratovolcano 17 km to the East and terminating in the Salar del Llullaillaco. This deposit has not yet been thoroughly studied.

There are reports of eruptions in 1854, 1868 and 1877, possibly causing the youngest lava flows in the area, which are easily recognizable because of their very dark appearance.

Sources

Reinhard, Johan The Ice Maiden: Inca Mummies, Mountain Gods, and Sacred Sites in the Andes. 2005, Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society.

Reinhard, Johan y Constanza Ceruti. Investigaciones arqueologicas en el Volcan Llullaillaco: Complejo ceremonial incaico de alta montana. Salta: EUCASA, 2000.

External links

Brief geology and geochemistry descriptions. Includes a satellite photograph
Expedition to the mountain. Several photographs
Museum of High Mountain Archaeology
Catholic University´s Institute of High Altitude Archaeology
Cordillera de los Andes
Fantasias arqueologicas sobre el volcan Llullaillaco
Llullaillaco on Summitpost
Mummies
Mountains-of-Chile
Volcanoes-of-Chile

Other pages about Mountains of Chile

-Acamarachi -Acotango -Aguas Calientes (volcano) -Aguilera (volcano) -Antillanca Group -Antuco (volcano) -Arintica -Aucanquilcha -Caichinque -Calbuco (volcano) -Callaqui -Cerro Arenales -Cerro Azul (Chile volcano) -Cerro Bayo -Cerro Castillo -Cerro Castillo Dynevor -Cerro Chalten -Cerro El Muerto -Cerro El Plomo -Cerro Escorial -Cerro Maca -Cerro Minchincha -Cerro Miscanti -Cerro Paranal -Cerro Pared Norte -Cerro Solo -Cerro Torre -Cerros de Incahuasi -Chiliques -Copahue -Copiapo (volcano) -Corcovado (volcano) -Cordon Caulle -Cordon del Azufre -Descabezado Grande -Falso Azufre -Guallatiri -Hornopiren (volcano) -Incahuasi -Irruputuncu -Isluga -Juriques -Lanin -Lascar Volcano -Lastarria -Lautaro (volcano) -Licancabur -List of mountains in Chile -Llaima -Llullaillaco -Lonquimay (volcano) -Maipo (volcano) -Marmolejo -Melimoyu -Mentolat -Michinmahuida -Miniques -Mino Volcano -Mocho-Choshuenco -Monte Balmaceda -Monte Burney -Monte San Lorenzo -Monte San Valentin -Mount Darwin (Andes) -Mount Hudson -Mount Tarn -Nevado San Francisco -Nevado Tres Cruces -Nevado de Longavi -Nevados de Chillan -Ojos del Salado -Olca -Ollague -Osorno (volcano) -Palomo -Paniri -Parinacota Volcano -Paruma -Planchon-Peteroa -Pomerape -Pular (volcano) -Puntiagudo-Cordon Cenizos -Putana Volcano -Puyehue (volcano) -Puyuhuapi (volcanic group) -Quetrupillan -Sairecabur -San Jose (volcano) -San Pedro (Chile volcano) -Sierra Nevada de Lagunas Bravas -Sierra Nevada (stratovolcano) -Sierra Velluda -Socompa -Taapaca -Tacora -Tinguiririca (volcano) -Tocorpuri -Tolhuaca (volcano) -Tralcan -Tronador -Tupungatito -Tupungato -Villarrica (volcano) -Yanteles -Yate (volcano) -Zapaleri

Other pages about Volcanoes of Chile

-Acamarachi -Acotango -Aguas Calientes (volcano) -Aguilera (volcano) -Antillanca Group -Antuco (volcano) -Arintica -Aucanquilcha -Caichinque -Calbuco (volcano) -Callaqui -Carran-Los Venados -Cerro Arenales -Cerro Azul (Chile volcano) -Cerro Bayo -Cerro Escorial -Cerro Maca -Cerro Minchincha -Cerro Solo -Chiliques -Copahue -Copiapo (volcano) -Corcovado (volcano) -Cordon Caulle -Cordon del Azufre -Descabezado Grande -Falso Azufre -Guallatiri -Hornopiren (volcano) -Incahuasi -Irruputuncu -Isluga -Juriques -Lanin -Lascar Volcano -Lastarria -Lautaro (volcano) -Licancabur -List of volcanoes in Chile -Llaima -Llullaillaco -Lonquimay (volcano) -Maipo (volcano) -Marmolejo -Melimoyu -Mentolat -Michinmahuida -Miniques -Mino Volcano -Mocho-Choshuenco -Monte Burney -Mount Hudson -Nevado San Francisco -Nevado de Longavi -Nevados de Chillan -Nevados de Payachata -Nevados de Quimsachata -Ojos del Salado -Olca -Ollague -Osorno (volcano) -Pali-Aike Volcanic Field -Palomo -Paniri -Parinacota Volcano -Paruma -Planchon-Peteroa -Pomerape -Pular (volcano) -Puntiagudo-Cordon Cenizos -Purico Complex -Putana Volcano -Puyehue (volcano) -Puyuhuapi (volcanic group) -Quetrupillan -Rano Kau -Sairecabur -San Jose (volcano) -San Pedro (Chile volcano) -Sierra Nevada de Lagunas Bravas -Sierra Nevada (stratovolcano) -Socompa -Taapaca -Tacora -Tinguiririca (volcano) -Tocorpuri -Tolhuaca (volcano) -Tronador -Tupungatito -Tupungato -Villarrica (volcano) -Yanteles -Yate (volcano)

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