Earth:Carachipampa

From HandWiki

Carachipampa is a Pleistocene volcanic cone in Argentina. Part of a wider, regional volcanic field, it has produced lava flows consisting of andesite. It is surrounded by a lake and a salt flat, the former of which features an ecosystem formed by microbes.

Volcano

Carachipampa lies in the Catamarca Province[1] of northwestern Argentina.[2] It is a black volcanic cone with its summit on the southeastern crater rim, surrounded by a field of lava flows that were fed from the northwestern side of the cone.[3] Part of the southeastern flank of the cone is collapsed.[4] The occurrence of eroded scoria cones and lava domes has been reported.[5] The lava flows reach thicknesses of 2–6 metres (6 ft 7 in–19 ft 8 in) and lengths of 8 kilometres (5.0 mi),[6] and consist of mafic andesite[7] that defines a calc-alkaline suite. Phenocrysts are mostly amphibole, clinopyroxene and olivine.[8] Rock samples from the volcano have been analyzed.[9]

The volcano erupted 750,000 years ago[10] and is part of the fourth volcanic stage in the region.[7] There are a number of mafic volcanic centres in the southern Puna, including Antofagasta de la Sierra north of Carachipampa.[11] Cerro Blanco farther southwest produced ignimbrites, which cover the terrain southwest of Carachipampa,[12] and is still active.[2] Seismic tomography has identified a low-speed anomaly underneath Carachipampa, which connects to it and to several neighbouring volcanoes like Galán and Ojos del Salado.[13] The so-called "Cerro Galán Magmatic Body" lies north of Carachipampa; the volcano lies above its margin.[14] A major crustal lineament bears the name "Carachipampa-Farallon Negro".[15] There is evidence of neotectonic activity at Carachipampa.[16]

Surroundings

The cone lies at the centre, and the lowest point, of a[17] 149 by 64 kilometres (93 mi × 40 mi) wide[18] deserted, vegetation-free[lower-alpha 1] plain[20] that is one of the lowest-elevation areas in the Puna.[21] To the west, across a ridge, lies the Incahuasi basin,[22] to the east there is a sharp demarcation with[23] the Campo de Piedra Pomez[2] with numerous yardangs carved into ignimbrites. Permian red beds and Paleogene sediments crop out close to Carachipampa.[2] Other rock formations around the Carachipampa plain range in age from Neoproterozoic over Devonian. The basin is filled with sediments, reaching thicknesses of 700 metres (2,300 ft).[18] The basin is notable for the giant (up to 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 in) high), wind-formed megaripples;[24] they are found southwest of Carachipampa in the valley that runs to Cerro Blanco.[25] Winds have removed fine materials, leaving only granular material on the plain,[20] and eroded sediments from wetlands.[26]

Climate and water

The region has a cold and arid climate,[23] as the Andes prevent moisture from the Atlantic. Winds blow mostly from the northwest and can be intense, explaining the widespread aeolian landforms at Carachipampa.[27] Other traits of the climate are high UV radiation, large daily temperature fluctuations and frequent drying, which make the environment similar to that experienced on Mars.[1]

There are two major waterbodies at Carachipampa,[28] which surround the volcano:[29]

  • Laguna Carachipampa covers a surface of 0.079 square kilometres (0.031 sq mi). Located at 2,915 metres (9,564 ft)[30] or 3,018 metres (9,902 ft) elevation,[31] it is hypersaline[32] and contains salty chloride- and sulfate-rich waters[33] which precipitate aragonite.[34] Its waters are mostly more than 60 years old.[35] The lake is flanked by pools of hydrothermal water,[36] and both them and (in lesser measure) the lake[36] feature a microbial ecosystem, similar to a number of other Puna lakes,[37] which has been compared to ancient environments in Mars's Jezero crater.[38] The microbes produce microbial mats, oncoids[lower-alpha 2] and stromatolites;[40] they consist mainly of the carbonates[31] aragonite and dolomite.[38] They extend along 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) of the lake, occasionally forming flat pavements.[36] Some microbialites are of Holocene age.[41] Flamingos breed at Laguna Carachipampa;[42] other birds encountered at Carachipampa include the Andean goose[43] and the Puna plover.[44]
  • Salar Carachipampa is a salt pan south-southeast from the volcano.[45] It has an area of 50 square kilometres (19 sq mi)[46] and sometimes fills with water, forming an ephemeral lake.[2] It is partially covered by wind-transported sediments[47] and surrounded by alluvial fans.[38] A smaller volcano lies south of the salt pan.[48]

Several watercourses, many of which are ephemeral, flow into the Carachipampa waterbodies. These include the Pirica and Colorado rivers and the creek at El Peñón.[28] At least one creek feeds the waterbodies.[49] The Pirica and Colorado rivers may still flow to Carachipampa.[50] Wetlands are found mainly north of Carachipampa[51] and cover an area of about 0.361 square kilometres (0.139 sq mi).[52]

It is probable that in the past, the basin extended to Fiambalá, before it was separated by volcanic activity.[53] Later, activity of the Antofagasta de la Sierra volcanoes farther north removed inflow from the north[54] although it is possible that water still flows underground from Antofagasta to Carachipampa.[55] Until 1905 years ago, the climate was wetter and a terrace formed at Laguna Carachipampa.[56] Active wetlands[57] and beach environments developed around 644 years ago.[56]

Human use

The town of El Peñón is east of Carachipampa,[2] and the volcano/lake is a tourism destination.[52] National Route 53 (Argentina) (es)[58][lower-alpha 3] from Belen to Antofagasta de la Sierra, Catamarca passes by Carachipampa.[45] There is no evidence of agriculture or archeological sites around Carachipampa,[61] but the inhabitants of Peñón used the wetlands as pastures.[51] In 1978, there was a habitation named Carachi Pampa.[62] Bolivia briefly claimed the southern Puna including Carachipampa during the Puna de Atacama dispute in the early 20th century.[63]

Owing to its extreme environmental conditions, Carachipampa has been used as an Earth-based analogue to Mars.[1] Alum and salt were extracted from Carachipampa,[64] and presently the company Lake Resources owns rights about a lithium extraction project at Carachipampa.[65] The name may refer to Quechua pampa, "plain"; the first component may be a reference to either kachi, "salt", or kachina, a type of white ground, or Qáranpampa, "Erial sterile field",[66] or a word in the Cacán language that means "scab" and may be a reference to skin burns.[67]

Notes

  1. ↑ A highly permeable ground may additionally hinder vegetation growth[19]
  2. ↑ Which in the Puna are also microbially generated.[39]
  3. ↑ The Inca road system coming from Quebrada del Toro[59] probably passes along a different location named "Carachipampa".[60]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Huidobro et al. 2023, p. 2.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Favaro et al. 2020, p. 3.
  3. ↑ Sundt 1911, p. 85.
  4. ↑ Coira & Cisterna 2021, p. 97.
  5. ↑ Maro et al. 2020, p. 3.
  6. ↑ Coira & Cisterna 2021, p. 96.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Kay, Coira & Mpodozis 2006, p. 500.
  8. ↑ Maro et al. 2020, p. 4.
  9. ↑ Kay, Coira & Mpodozis 2006, p. 501.
  10. ↑ Coira & Cisterna 2021, p. 32.
  11. ↑ Coira & Cisterna 2021, p. 94.
  12. ↑ Coira & Cisterna 2021, p. 31.
  13. ↑ Calixto et al. 2013, p. 4297.
  14. ↑ Maro et al. 2020, p. 15.
  15. ↑ Clavero et al. 2024, p. 3.
  16. ↑ Olivera, Tchilinguirian & Grana 2004, p. 237.
  17. ↑ Pardo-Igúzquiza & Dowd 2021, p. 1033.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Gozalvez, Álvarez & Seggiaro 2023, p. 11.
  19. ↑ Grau et al. 2018, p. 150.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Estrada 1999, p. 10.
  21. ↑ Pintar 2014.
  22. ↑ Sundt 1911, p. 77.
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 Favaro, Hugenholtz & Barchyn 2021, p. 3064.
  24. ↑ Yizhaq 2008, p. 1369.
  25. ↑ Hugenholtz, Barchyn & Favaro 2015, p. 136.
  26. ↑ Tchilinguirian & Olivera 2012, p. 53.
  27. ↑ Favaro et al. 2020, p. 4.
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 Zamora 2022, p. 225.
  29. ↑ Muñoz 1894, p. 43.
  30. ↑ Mirande 2022, p. 100.
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 Vignale et al. 2022, p. 8.
  32. ↑ Maidana & Seeligmann 2015.
  33. ↑ Seeligmann & Maidana 2019, p. 477.
  34. ↑ Grau et al. 2018, p. 251.
  35. ↑ Vignoni et al. 2024, p. 74.
  36. ↑ 36.0 36.1 36.2 Farías 2020, p. 256.
  37. ↑ Vignale et al. 2022, p. 5.
  38. ↑ 38.0 38.1 38.2 Pérez, Villafañe & Ruiz Sánchez 2024, p. 63.
  39. ↑ Vignale et al. 2022, p. 3.
  40. ↑ Vignale et al. 2022, p. 6.
  41. ↑ Pérez, Villafañe & Ruiz Sánchez 2024, p. 62.
  42. ↑ Torres et al. 2019, p. 6.
  43. ↑ Miatello et al. 2024, p. 248.
  44. ↑ Caziani et al. 2001, p. 114.
  45. ↑ 45.0 45.1 Milana 2009, p. 343.
  46. ↑ Munné 1978, p. 260.
  47. ↑ Milana 2009, p. 344.
  48. ↑ Maro et al. 2020, p. 2.
  49. ↑ Sundt 1911, p. 94.
  50. ↑ Estrada 1999, p. 151.
  51. ↑ 51.0 51.1 Muñoz 1894, p. 120.
  52. ↑ 52.0 52.1 Caziani et al. 2001, p. 106.
  53. ↑ Sundt 1911, p. 78.
  54. ↑ Sundt 1911, p. 86.
  55. ↑ Estrada 1999, p. 11.
  56. ↑ 56.0 56.1 Grana et al. 2016.
  57. ↑ Tchilinguirian & Olivera 2012, p. 54.
  58. ↑ Munné 1978, p. 267.
  59. ↑ Vitry 2003, p. 155.
  60. ↑ Vitry 2003, p. 158.
  61. ↑ Tchilinguirian & Olivera 2012, p. 56.
  62. ↑ Munné 1978, p. 262.
  63. ↑ Pizarro 2010, p. 354.
  64. ↑ Zamora 2022, p. 244.
  65. ↑ Argento 2022, p. 56.
  66. ↑ Estrada 1999, p. 13.
  67. ↑ Lafone Quevedo 1898, p. 69.

Sources

Template:Coord/display/intitle



Retrieved from "https://handwiki.org/wiki/index.php?title=Earth:Carachipampa&oldid=4161715"