Galan Volcano

Cerro Galán is a caldera in the Catamarca Province of Argentina. It is one of the largest exposed calderas in the world. It is part of the Central Volcanic Zone of the Andes, one out of several volcanic belts found in South America. It is one of several major caldera systems in the Central Volcanic Zone, some of which are grouped into the Altiplano–Puna volcanic complex. Volcanic activity at Galán is the indirect consequence of the subduction of the Nazca Plate beneath the South America Plate, and involves the infiltration of melts into the crust and the formation of secondary magmas which after storage in the crust give rise to the dacitic to rhyodacitic rocks erupted by the volcano. Galán was active between 5.6 and 4.51 million years ago, when it generated a number of ignimbrites known as the Toconquis group which crop out mainly west of the caldera. The largest eruption of Galán was 2.08 ± 0.02 million years ago and was the source of the Galán ignimbrite, which covered the surroundings of the caldera with volcanic material. The volume of this ignimbrite has been estimated to be about 650 cubic kilometres ; after this eruption much smaller ignimbrite eruptions took place and presently two hot springs are active in the caldera.
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