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Licancabur Volcano | John Seach
Chile
22.83 S, 67.88 W
summit elevation 6017 m
Stratovolcano
Licancabur Volcano is located in northern Chile near the border with Bolivia.
The volcano summit contains the world's highest lake (5913 m). It is 90 m by 70 m wide with a temperature of 6 deg C. The lake is remarkable because it is located in the Atacama desert is the driest place on Earth, and has remained for at least 500 years.
The lake environment combines low-oxygen, low atmospheric pressure, and high-UV radiation. Licancabur lake remains above freezing due to geothermal heating. These conditions make Licancabur a good comparison to ancient Martian lakes. The lake contains extremophiles.
Young blocky lava flows extend 6 km down the NW to SW flanks of the volcano.
Laguna Verde (Green Lagoon, 4300 m) is a salt lake at the north eastern base of Juriques, a stratovolcano next to Licancabur.
Further reading
Figueroa, O., Déruelle, B. and Demaiffe, D., 2009. Genesis of adakite-like lavas of Licancabur volcano (Chile—Bolivia, Central Andes). Comptes Rendus Geoscience, 341(4), pp.310-318.
Hock, A.N., 2008. Licancabur Volcano, Bolivia and life in the Atacama: Environmental physics and analogies to Mars.
Licancabur Volcano Eruptions
No recent eruptions.