Licancabur

Infobox Mountain
Name = Licancabur
Photo = Licancabur.jpg
Caption = Licancabur and Laguna Verde
Elevation = convert|5920|m|ft|0
Location = Bolivia-Chile
Range = Andes
Prominence =
Coordinates = coord|22|50|01|S|67|52|58|W|type:mountain_region:BO
Topographic

Type=Stratovolcano
Age= Holocene
Last eruption=Unknown
First ascent = Inca, pre-Columbian
Easiest route = hike

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 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 500–1,000 years.

Naming

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

ee also

*Sairecabur
*Purico Complex
*Putana Volcano
*Tocorpuri
*Llano de Chajnantor Observatory
*List of volcanoes in Bolivia
*List of volcanoes in Chile

References

* [http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/volcano.cfm?vnum=1505-092 Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program: Licancabur]
*
* (in Spanish; also includes volcanoes of Argentina, Bolivia, and Peru)
*
* [http://www.extremeenvironment.com/2003/ NASA Licancabur Expedition: Exploring the Highest Lakes on Earth]
* [http://www.highestlake.com/highest-lake-world.html The Highest Lakes in the World]

External links

* [http://gerdbreitenbach.de/anden/bolivia_1/licancabur_en.html Licancabur, tour 2003]