Villarrica (volcano)
Active volcano in southern Chile / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about Villarrica Volcano?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
Villarrica ( /ˌviːəˈriːkə/ VEE-ə-REE-kə) (Spanish: Volcán Villarrica, Mapudungun: Ruka Pillañ) is one of Chile's most active volcanoes, rising above the lake and town of the same name, 750 km (470 mi) south of Santiago.[2] It is also known as Rucapillán, a Mapuche word meaning "great spirit's house" or " the demon's house". It is the westernmost of three large stratovolcanoes that trend northwest to southeast obliquely perpendicular to the Andean chain along the Mocha-Villarrica Fault Zone,[3] and along with Quetrupillán and the Chilean portion of Lanín, are protected within Villarrica National Park. Guided ascents are popular during summer months.
Villarrica Volcano | |
---|---|
Ruka Pillañ | |
Highest point | |
Elevation | 2,860 m (9,380 ft)[1] |
Prominence | 1,575 m (5,167 ft)[1] |
Listing | Region high point Ultra |
Coordinates | 39°25′15″S 71°56′21″W[1] |
Naming | |
English translation | Place of Wealth |
Language of name | Spanish |
Geography | |
Location | Southern Chile |
Parent range | Andes |
Geology | |
Age of rock | < Upper Pleistocene |
Mountain type | Stratovolcano |
Volcanic belt | South Volcanic Zone |
Last eruption | 2020 |
Climbing | |
First ascent | 1883, Chilean Army |
Easiest route | Villarrica ski centre – Piedra Negra |
Villarrica, with its lava of basaltic-andesitic composition, is one of a small number worldwide known to have an active (but in this case intermittent) lava lake within its crater. The volcano usually generates strombolian eruptions with ejection of incandescent pyroclasts and lava flows. Rainfall plus melted snow and glacier ice can cause massive lahars (mud and debris flows), such as during the eruptions of 1964 and 1971.
Villarrica is one of 9 volcanoes currently monitored by the Deep Earth Carbon Degassing Project. The project is collecting data on the carbon dioxide and sulphur dioxide emission rates from subaerial volcanoes.[4]