Descabezado Grande (also Cerro Azul or Quizapu[1]) is a stratovolcano located in the Maule Region of central Chile. It is capped by a 1.4-kilometre-wide (0.9 mi) ice-filled caldera and named for its flat-topped form, as descabezado means "headless" in Spanish. A smaller crater about 500 metres (1,600 ft) wide is found in the northeast part of the caldera, and it has active fumaroles.

Descabezado Grande
Highest point
Elevation3,953 m (12,969 ft)
Coordinates35°35′26″S 70°44′48″W / 35.59056°S 70.74667°W / -35.59056; -70.74667
Geography
Descabezado Grande is located in Chile
Descabezado Grande
Descabezado Grande
Location of Descabezado Grande
in Chile
LocationCentral Chile
Parent rangeAndes
Geology
Rock agePleistocene
Mountain typeStratovolcano
Volcanic arc/beltSouth Volcanic Zone
Last eruptionJune 1933

The volcano is composed of andesite and rhyodacite lava flows along with pyroclastic flow deposits. It has a basal diameter of about 10 by 12 kilometres (6.2 by 7.5 mi) and a total volume of about 30 cubic kilometres (7.2 cu mi). Along with Cerro Azul, 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) to the south, it lies at the center of a 20-by-30-kilometre (12-by-19-mile) volcanic field.

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Webpage OVDAS Archived 2013-10-29 at the Wayback Machine, about Descabezado Grande, retrieved on 28 October 2013
  • "Descabezado Grande". Global Volcanism Program. Smithsonian Institution.
  • González-Ferrán, Oscar (1995). Volcanes de Chile. Santiago, Chile: Instituto Geográfico Militar. p. 640 pp. ISBN 956-202-054-1. (in Spanish; also includes volcanoes of Argentina, Bolivia, and Peru)
  • Biggar, John (2005). The Andes: A Guide for Climbers (3rd ed.). Andes Publishing (Scotland). p. 304 pp. ISBN 0-9536087-2-7.