Melimoyu | |
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Oblique view of Melimoyu from the International Space Station
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Highest point | |
Elevation | 2,440 m (8,010 ft) |
Prominence | 2,272 m (7,454 ft) |
Listing | Ultra |
Coordinates | 44°04′33″S 72°51′36″W / 44.07583°S 72.86000°WCoordinates: 44°04′33″S 72°51′36″W / 44.07583°S 72.86000°W |
Geography | |
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Parent range | Andes |
Geology | |
Mountain type | Stratovolcano |
Last eruption | 200 CE ± 75 years |
Melimoyu is a stratovolcano (mapudungun meli=four moyu=breast) with an 8-km-wide, largely buried caldera located about 40 km NW of the town of Puerto Puyuhuapi, in the Aysén del General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo Region of Chile. It lies near the northern entrance of the Moraleda Channel.Melimoyu is an active stratovolcano in southern Chile, 40 km NW of the town of Puyuhuapi and 135 km south of Chaiten volcano. The volcano has an 8 km wide ice-filled caldera, which is largely filled by a younger edifice and is drained by a glacier flowing through a gap in the NE caldera rim. The basaltic-andesite volcano is elongated 10 km in an E-W direction and has several cinder cones and a 1 km wide summit crater. Two large explosive eruptions have been identified at Melimoyu volcano from tephra layers (MEL-1 and MEL-2) and been dated to ca. 1800 and 2800 years ago.
2010 Seismic unrest A weak seismic swarm occurred at Melimoyu volcano in May and June 2010 and its alert level was raised to 2 (Green) on 8 June, 2010. Increased seismic activity was detected during May. 9 long-period earthquakes were measured on 27 May. The next day 6 long-period earthquakes preceded 2 separate seismic swarms, located 2-12 km and 7-14 km south beneath the summit. All earthquakes were M 2.5 or less. (GVP monthly reports)
The summit elevation of Melimoyu is often cited as 2,400 m above sea level, but SRTM analysis suggests the actual height is closer to 2,440 m.