Cerro del León

Cerro del León is a stratovolcano located in El Loa province, Antofagasta Region, Chile. It is part of the Chilean Central Volcanic Zone and forms a volcanic lineament with neighbouring Paniri and Toconce that was active into the Holocene. Cerro del León itself was constructed in three stages by andesitic–dacitic lava flows and was subject to glacial erosion.

Geology

The volcano has a diametre of 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) and is constructed from andesites erupted through three stages of activity. Two nested craters lie on its summit and have diametres of 260–270 metres (850–890 ft). Volcán Lagunita is a neighbouring volcano and is more heavily eroded and hydrothermally altered.

Regional setting

Cerro del León is part of the Central Volcanic Zone, a volcanic belt in the Andes. Volcanic activity occurs since the Oligocene and includes dacitic–rhyolitic ignimbrites. On top of these the main volcanic arc, including andesitic-dacitic stratovolcanoes, has formed 300–350 kilometres (190–220 mi) away from the Peru–Chile Trench on a crust 120 kilometres (75 mi) thick. San Pedro and Lascar have historical activity, but only a few volcanoes have been studied, namely Lascar, Ollagüe and Parinacota.