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Hualca Hualca

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Extinct volcano in Peru For the mountain in the Apurímac Region, Peru, see Wallqa Wallqa (Apurímac).
Hualca Hualca
Highest point
Elevation6,025 m (19,767 ft)
Parent peakAmpato
Coordinates15°43′14.15″S 071°51′19.80″W / 15.7205972°S 71.8555000°W / -15.7205972; -71.8555000
Geography
Hualca Hualca is located in PeruHualca HualcaHualca HualcaLocation of Hualca Hualca in Peru.
LocationArequipa, Peru
Parent rangeAndes, Peruvian Andes
Geology
Mountain typeStratovolcano
Volcanic arc/beltCentral Volcanic Zone
Last eruptionUnknown

Hualca Hualca (possibly from Aymara and Quechua wallqa collar) is a 6,025-metre (19,767 ft) high extinct volcano in the Andes of southern Peru. It lies about 70 kilometres (43 mi) northwest of Arequipa and is part of a north-south chain that includes the volcanoes Ampato and Sabancaya, the last of which has been historically active.

Hualca Hualca features a wide amphitheatre on the northern flank, which was created by a gigantic landslide during the Pleistocene. After the collapse, renewed volcanic activity built a new summit and several lava dome complexes within the collapse scar. After cessation of volcanic activity, glaciers eroded the volcano and formed multiple moraines. The present-day volcano is covered by an ice cap, and during the last glacial maximum glaciers advanced to low altitudes.

Geography and geomorphology

Hualca Hualca is in the Caylloma Province of southern Peru, 70 kilometres (43 mi) northwest from Arequipa. Directly north of the volcano is the Colca Valley, an important tourism destination and agricultural area. The towns of Cabanaconde and Pinchollo lie at the northern foot of Hualca Hualca; other settlements in the area are Madrigal, Lari, Maca, Achoma and Ichupampa. Several roads run around the volcano, one goes to the Hornillo viewpoint on the northeastern flank. Human activity on the mountain consists of homesteads mainly on its western flank and monitoring equipment of Peru's volcano monitoring service. Hualca Hualca can be climbed in a few days from the village of Pinchollo by the north side, and is not considered challenging from a mountaineering perspective.

The volcano has a base width of 25 kilometres (16 mi) and is classified as a stratovolcano. Its main structure is a 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) wide ragged semicircular ridge, the 6,025 metres (19,767 ft) high summit is in its the southeastern sector. The ridge surrounds a 1,600 metres (5,200 ft) deep amphitheatre with 700–1,000 metres (2,300–3,300 ft) high cliffs, which opens north on to the Colcal Valley at about 3,500 metres (11,500 ft) elevation. The scar was formed by gigantic landslide that removed a volume of about 1.3 cubic kilometres (0.31 cu mi) from the edifice. Within the scar are several massifs consisting of lava domes and lava flows, including 5,310 metres (17,420 ft) high Nevado de Puye close to the summit, 5,190 metres (17,030 ft) high Cerro Ahuashune farther west, and a 4,400 metres (14,400 ft) high massif with the "Mirador Cruz del Condor" viewpoint to the north. Between Ahuashune and Mirador Cruz del Condor is a lake, and several valleys (such as the Huayuray valley due north of the summit) run north through the amphitheatre. Surfaces on the volcano are frequently covered by debris and moraine rocks, and Sabancaya has deposited volcanic fallout on the land south of Hualca Hualca.

To the north, the mountain towers above the Colca Valley, and the slopes are irregular. Elsewhere around the perimetre of Hualca Hualca, it and its neighbours rise about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) above the Altiplano, forming more regular flanks. Notable valleys on its outer slopes are the Mollebaya to the east, Pujro Huayjo to the southwest and Mucurca to the west. Moraines and glacial sediments cover the western slopes of Hualca Hualca, while lava flows of Sabancaya onlap the southern slopes. Laguna Mucurca lake is located at the western foot of Hualca Hualca.

Geology

Volcanism in South America occurs in four distinct zones along its western coast in the Andes: The Northern Volcanic Zone, the Central Volcanic Zone (CVZ), the Southern Volcanic Zone and the Austral Volcanic Zone. The volcanoes of Peru and the Central Andes belong to the CVZ, which includes more than 50 calderas, composite volcanoes and monogenetic volcanic fields that erupted during the Quaternary. In Peru they include (from north to south) Auquihuato, Sara Sara, Coropuna, Mismi, Hualca Hualca-Sabancaya-Ampato, Chachani, Misti, Ubinas, Huaynaputina, Ticsani, Tutupaca, Yucamane and Casiri. The volcanism of the Central Andes is caused by the northeastward subduction of the Nazca Plate under the South American Plate, at a rate of about 4.6 centimetres per year (1.8 in/year).

Hualca Hualca and its neighbours to the south Sabancaya and Ampato form the Ampato volcanic complex. With an area of about 630 square kilometres (240 sq mi) it is one of the largest volcanic complexes of the Central Andes. Hualca Hualca is the oldest volcano of the complex. Ampato began erupting 450,000 years ago and formed a summit dome 20,000-10,000 years ago. Sabancaya has been active during the Holocene and in historical time, and is the second-most active volcano in Peru.

The rock formations in the area are subdivided into five groups: The Paleozoic intrusive rocks that crop out in the Colca Valley; sedimentary rocks of the Yura Group in the Colca Valley; Oligocene-Miocene volcanic rocks of the Terraza Group, north of the Colca River; Pliocene ignimbrites of the Barroso Group around Hualca Hualca; and the Quaternary sediments of the Colca Group in the the collapse scar of the volcano and the Colca Valley. Rocks in the Ampato volcanic complex form the Ampato Group, Some sources regard Hualca Hualca or the entire Ampato volcanic complex as members of the Barroso Group. The rocks underlying the Ampato volcanic complex consist of the Sencca Formation, which is between 4.9-1.4 million years old.

Most of the volcano is formed by lava flows, which are stacked more than 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) high. Numerous fault zones run across the northern sector of Hualca Hualca; many show evidence of neotectonic activity, and some have produced earthquakes in recent times or undergo aseismic creep.There are three clusters of shallow seismic activity at Hualca Hualca driven by volcano-tectonic processes. Spontaneous potential analysis has found evidence of two buried calderas in the northern part of Hualca Hualca.

Composition

The composition of Hualca Hualca's rocks ranges from andesite-trachyandesite to dacite-trachydacite, and define a potassium-rich calc-alkaline rock suite similar to that of the other volcanoes in the Ampato volcanic complex. Phenocrysts include amphibole, biotite, plagioclase and pyroxene. The magmas that built Hualca Hualca formed when the mantle wedge, metasomatized during subduction, melted; the magmas underwent fractional crystallization before erupting at the surface. Minor geochemical differences between the rocks of the three Ampato complex volcanoes may reflect differences in magma generation processes. The geysers at Pinchollo have emplaced various sulfate minerals.

Climate and life

There are no temperature data from Hualca Hualca, but data from Chachani imply stable temperatures year-round. Annual precipitation is about 0.8–1 metre (2 ft 7 in – 3 ft 3 in). During December-March, the Intertropical Convergence Zone reaches the mountain and draws moisture from the Amazon, as part of the South American Summer Monsoon (Pacific Ocean-derived moisture is trapped beneath a temperature inversion at 800 metres (2,600 ft) elevation and cannot reach Hualca Hualca). This is the wet season, during which most of the annual precipitation falls. April to November is the dry season. The mountain is snow-covered year-round. Precipitation on Hualca Hualca may constitute a source of groundwater in the area. El Niño-Southern Oscillation events cause temperatures to increase and precipitation to decrease.

Below 4,500 metres (14,800 ft) elevation there is herbaceous vegetation, dominated by Festuca and Stipa but also featuring cacti, Peruvian feather grass and other pioneer plant species. Above that altitude, cushion plants such as Azorella compacta replace the herbs until 5,000 metres (16,000 ft) elevation, where most vegetation disappears save for lichens and mosses. Peat bogs grow in valleys on the southern side of Hualca Hualca in places where precipitation water and meltwater accumulate. They are classified as "bofedales". Animals include insects and birds like the Andean condor.

During the late Pleistocene, temperatures in the Peruvian Andes were up to 8–12 °C (14–22 °F) lower, and episodes of increased precipitation led to the formation of giant lakes in the Altiplano ("Lake Tauca") and (possibly) to the growth of glaciers. In recent decades, temperatures have been increasing at a rate of about 0.1 °C (0.18 °F) per decade. The warming has been blamed for the drying of springs and more irregular meltwater flows.

Glaciation

Past glaciations have left moraines down to altitudes of 3,650 metres (11,980 ft) around the entire volcano. Moraine tongues form complex and well-preserved structures; they are particularly well-developed on the eastern flank of the volcano and in the Huayuray valley, where they reach lengths of 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) and heights of 120 metres (390 ft). Other glacial landforms are striated/polished surfaces, glacial overdeepenings, glacial valleys, inactive cirques and outwash plains. During the Last Glacial Maximum, the Ampato volcanoes featured an ice cap with an area of about 347 square kilometres (134 sq mi).

The timing of glaciation in the Peruvian Andes is complex, with evidence of glacial advances at Hualca Hualca both during the Last Glacial Maximum and the "Tauca" and "Coipasa" periods. The advances produced several generations of moraines, and eroded older moraines. Cosmogenic isotope dating has yielded ages of 17,000-16,000 and 12,000 years ago for glacial advances at Hualca Hualca, implying that glacier retreat at Hualca Hualca occurred later than at other Central Andean volcanoes. Final glacier retreat occurred at the beginning of the Holocene; two advances in the Huayuray valley have been attributed to the Little Ice Age.

Glaciers persist around the summit in active cirques, and there is permanent snow cover on the subsidiary peaks. There are crevasses and seracs. Rock glaciers occur in numerous locations around the mountain. The glaciers are retreating; the Huayuray glacier lost half its surface area between 1955 and 2000 and a further near-halving occurred between 2000 and 2008; the Ampato volcanic complex might lose all of its glaciers by 2065, threatening water supplies in the region.

Eruption history

Hualca Hualca was active during the Pliocene and Pleistocene. It formed in several stages, with initial activity producing andesitic to dacitic-trachydacitic lava flows that build the main edifice and crop out in the collapse scar. Dates ranging from 1.07±0.3 million years ago to 610,000±10,000 have been obtained on this unit. Hydrothermal alteration and volcanic activity weakened the mountain until collapse, which did not occur during an eruption but may have been triggered by an earthquake. The first collapse removed the central sector of the volcano; subsequent activity rebuilt the summit and spilled lava flows over the northeastern flank without filling in the entire scar.

550,000 years ago, activity moved from the rebuilt summit into the collapse scar and produced Nevado de Puye, the Mirador Cruz del Condor and Cerro Ahuashune; dating has yielded ages of 416,000±34,000 years ago at Nevado de Puye and of 600,000±300,000 years ago at Ahuashune. A second, much smaller collapse during the last 600,000 years left a debris avalanche deposit inside the old collapse scar, which was originally incorrectly attributed to the first collapse. It dammed the Colca River, forming a now-vanished lake that reached until Chivay and left lake sediments until it overflowed and broke the dam. It is possible that both the first and second collapses formed lakes in the Colca Valley, and other lakes were formed by lava flows. The second collapse did not greatly alter the structure of Hualca Hualca. Lahars formed when volcanic activity impacted snowfields and flowed into the Colca Valley. Ignimbrites on the slopes testify to past explosive eruptions.

The younges date obtained on Hualca Hualca is 164,000 years ago. The volcano is considered extinct; gullying, glacial erosion and hydrothermal alteration have taken place. There may be Holocene vents with short lava flows southwest of the summit.

Fumarolic activity and interactions with Sabancaya

Hualca Hualca features fumarolic activity; a few kilometres north of the summit is a group of originally three geysers; one was buried by an earthquake in 2001 and another became a hot spring. The active geyser is known under the name "Pinchollo". Boiling mud has been reported from there. One of the buried calderas may pool water, which is then heated by the magma under Hualca Hualca and ascends to the surface at the site of the geysers.

The magma chambers of Sabancaya are situated at about 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) depth under Hualca Hualca, where magma evolves and eventually ascends into the former volcano. There have been several episodes of surface uplift at Hualca Hualca linked to magma movements in the magmatic system:

  • Between 1992 and 1996, totalling about 2 centimetres (0.79 in) per year and apparently followed by deflation lasting until 1999.
  • Uplift between 2012 to 2019 caused numerous earthquakes north of Hualca Hualca when fault zones there failed under the pressure, and increased heat flow boosted activity in the fumaroles at Hualca Hualca.
  • Between 2014 and 2020 the mountain rose at a rate of 4.5 centimetres (1.8 in) per year.

The deformation implies magma movements on the order of 0.1 cubic kilometres (0.024 cu mi) and is not strongly correlated to activity at Sabancaya. Such offset magmatic systems are not unusual and may experience the entry of new mafic magmas, that in turn drive activity in the shallow magmatic system and eruptions at Sabancaya.

Hualca Hualca is also impacted on the surface by activity at Sabancaya, recent eruptions have deposited volcanic ash on Hualca Hualca. The volcano is within the hazard zone of Sabancaya; ash falls from the latter volcano can melt the ice on Hualca Hualca to form lahars, threatening agricultural land and infrastructure, and volcanic fallout can precipitate over the mountain.

Religious and cultural importance

During Inka times, Hualca Hualca was regarded as an apu, a mountain deity. During eruptions of Sabancaya, the Inka rulers offered sacrifices to the apus of the region, such as Juanita at Ampato. The veneration is attested since the 16th century, but probably pre-dates Inka rule, and remains of the offerings have been found at 5,800 metres (19,000 ft) elevation. In October 2011, the inhabitants of Pinchollo organized a procession on the mountain (accompanied by Catholic ritual) and offered various sacrifices. The mountain is also the principal deity of Cabanaconde, where people liken its water to a mother's milk and perform a regular water ritual to begin each irrigation cycle. People living in Cabanaconde and Pinchollo view the mountain as the source of their water, which flows down through streams and canals into their lands, and the offerings aim at preserving a stable water supply. Cabanaconde mostly ceased this practice when a new irrigation canal, independent from Hualca Hualca, was built. According to the founding mythology of Cavana and Collaguas, humans walked out of the mountain. People in southern Peru believed that children were sacrificed to Hualca Hualca.

See also

References

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Sources


Andean volcanoes
Northern Volcanic Zone
(6° N – 3° S)
Central Volcanic Zone
(14°–27° S)
Southern Volcanic Zone
(33°–46° S)
Austral Volcanic Zone
(49°–55° S)
Note: volcanoes are ordered by latitude from north to south
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