Nuevo Mundo volcano
Encyclopedia
The Nuevo Mundo volcano is a stratovolcano
, lava dome
and a lava flow complex between Potosí
and Uyuni
, Bolivia
, in the Andes
rising to a peak at 5438 metres (17,841 ft).
German geologist Frederic Ahlfeld, an avid mountaineer, moved to Bolivia in 1924. He began exploring the mountains in Potosí Department
after World War II, climbing a number of the peaks. In a letter to historian Evelio Echevtia in 1962, Ahlfeld stated that because of Nuevo Mundo’s supposed height, one of the two Cerro Lípez peaks might be a possible candidate for Monsieur Courty’s mysterious mountain. However, in 1969, in Ahlfeld's book Geografia Fisica de Bolivia, Ahlfeld presented a drawing of a Nuevo Mundo (5438 m.) with its description, and at a location southwest of Potosí
and just north of the small village of Potoco, far away from Cerro Lípez
.
At the end of the 1990s, Toto Aramayo, Yossi Brain and Dakin Cook undertook the search for Nuevo Mundo, and they found Ahlfeld’s Nuevo Mundo at Latitude:19°47'0"S, Longitude: 66°29'0"W. The Bolivian government and the USGS
recognize this as the correct identification of Nuevo Mundo, although some maps still as of 2007 labeled Cerro Lípez as Nuevo Mundo.
which is capped by cinder cones
(mostly of ash and pumice). At the base level there are two lava flows (of a viscous dacite) that erupted along a north-south fault. Apparently at the same time there were block-and-ash flows to the east. Later a highly explosive Plinian eruption
produced an ash fall that extended over 200 km to the east, as far as Potosí
. This eruption was quite recent, but it predated the arrival of the Spanish in 1533. While earlier eruption centers, such as the Kari-Kari caldera, Cerro Wila Kkolu, Cerro Condor Nasa, Cerro Villacolo, Cerro Huanapa Pampa created the Los Frailes Plateau, Nueva Mundo overlaid those Los Frailes plateau deposits in the Holocene
with huge ignimbrite
deposits, which are mostly pyroclastic dacite
and andesite
.
Stratovolcano
A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a tall, conical volcano built up by many layers of hardened lava, tephra, pumice, and volcanic ash. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile and periodic, explosive eruptions...
, lava dome
Lava dome
|250px|thumb|right|Image of the [[rhyolitic]] lava dome of [[Chaitén Volcano]] during its 2008–2009 eruption.In volcanology, a lava dome is a roughly circular mound-shaped protrusion resulting from the slow extrusion of viscous lava from a volcano...
and a lava flow complex between Potosí
Potosí
Potosí is a city and the capital of the department of Potosí in Bolivia. It is one of the highest cities in the world by elevation at a nominal . and it was the location of the Spanish colonial mint, now the National Mint of Bolivia...
and Uyuni
Uyuni
Uyuni is a city in the southwest of Bolivia. It primarily serves as a gateway for tourists visiting the world's largest salt flats, the nearby Salar de Uyuni.-Origin:...
, Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
, in the Andes
Andes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
rising to a peak at 5438 metres (17,841 ft).
History
The first mountaineering in the area was before 1903, by a Frenchman, Georges Courty, whose notes led to the mysterious entry in the 1987 book Mountaineering in the Andes by Jill Neate, “Nuevo Mundo, 6020 m, location uncertain.”German geologist Frederic Ahlfeld, an avid mountaineer, moved to Bolivia in 1924. He began exploring the mountains in Potosí Department
Potosí Department
Potosí Department is a department in southwestern Bolivia. It comprises 118,218 km² with 709,013 inhabitants . The capital is the city of Potosí....
after World War II, climbing a number of the peaks. In a letter to historian Evelio Echevtia in 1962, Ahlfeld stated that because of Nuevo Mundo’s supposed height, one of the two Cerro Lípez peaks might be a possible candidate for Monsieur Courty’s mysterious mountain. However, in 1969, in Ahlfeld's book Geografia Fisica de Bolivia, Ahlfeld presented a drawing of a Nuevo Mundo (5438 m.) with its description, and at a location southwest of Potosí
Potosí
Potosí is a city and the capital of the department of Potosí in Bolivia. It is one of the highest cities in the world by elevation at a nominal . and it was the location of the Spanish colonial mint, now the National Mint of Bolivia...
and just north of the small village of Potoco, far away from Cerro Lípez
Cerro Lípez
Cerro Lípez is a stratovolcano in the Cordillera de Lípez in Sud Lípez province of Potosí Department in southwestern Bolivia. It has twin peaks and rises to 5,929 m. On some maps it is incorrectly labeled as Nuevo Mundo. Nuevo Mundo is in fact hundreds of kilometres to the northeast and five...
.
At the end of the 1990s, Toto Aramayo, Yossi Brain and Dakin Cook undertook the search for Nuevo Mundo, and they found Ahlfeld’s Nuevo Mundo at Latitude:19°47'0"S, Longitude: 66°29'0"W. The Bolivian government and the USGS
United States Geological Survey
The United States Geological Survey is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and the natural hazards that threaten it. The organization has four major science disciplines, concerning biology,...
recognize this as the correct identification of Nuevo Mundo, although some maps still as of 2007 labeled Cerro Lípez as Nuevo Mundo.
Geology
Nuevo Mundo is a complex eruption center on the edge of the Los Frailes Plateau with a stratovolcanoStratovolcano
A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a tall, conical volcano built up by many layers of hardened lava, tephra, pumice, and volcanic ash. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile and periodic, explosive eruptions...
which is capped by cinder cones
Volcanic cone
Volcanic cones are among the simplest volcanic formations. They are built by ejecta from a volcanic vent, piling up around the vent in the shape of a cone with a central crater. Volcanic cones are of different types, depending upon the nature and size of the fragments ejected during the eruption...
(mostly of ash and pumice). At the base level there are two lava flows (of a viscous dacite) that erupted along a north-south fault. Apparently at the same time there were block-and-ash flows to the east. Later a highly explosive Plinian eruption
Plinian eruption
Plinian eruptions, also known as 'Vesuvian eruptions', are volcanic eruptions marked by their similarity to the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79 ....
produced an ash fall that extended over 200 km to the east, as far as Potosí
Potosí
Potosí is a city and the capital of the department of Potosí in Bolivia. It is one of the highest cities in the world by elevation at a nominal . and it was the location of the Spanish colonial mint, now the National Mint of Bolivia...
. This eruption was quite recent, but it predated the arrival of the Spanish in 1533. While earlier eruption centers, such as the Kari-Kari caldera, Cerro Wila Kkolu, Cerro Condor Nasa, Cerro Villacolo, Cerro Huanapa Pampa created the Los Frailes Plateau, Nueva Mundo overlaid those Los Frailes plateau deposits in the Holocene
Holocene
The Holocene is a geological epoch which began at the end of the Pleistocene and continues to the present. The Holocene is part of the Quaternary period. Its name comes from the Greek words and , meaning "entirely recent"...
with huge ignimbrite
Ignimbrite
An ignimbrite is the deposit of a pyroclastic density current, or pyroclastic flow, a hot suspension of particles and gases that flows rapidly from a volcano, driven by a greater density than the surrounding atmosphere....
deposits, which are mostly pyroclastic dacite
Dacite
Dacite is an igneous, volcanic rock. It has an aphanitic to porphyritic texture and is intermediate in composition between andesite and rhyolite. The relative proportions of feldspars and quartz in dacite, and in many other volcanic rocks, are illustrated in the QAPF diagram...
and andesite
Andesite
Andesite is an extrusive igneous, volcanic rock, of intermediate composition, with aphanitic to porphyritic texture. In a general sense, it is the intermediate type between basalt and dacite. The mineral assemblage is typically dominated by plagioclase plus pyroxene and/or hornblende. Magnetite,...
.