Tunupa is a dormant volcano in the Potosí Department of southwestern Bolivia .
64-567: It stands on the northern side of the Salar de Uyuni at an elevation of 5,321 m (17,457 ft) on the Bolivian Altiplano . Tunupa was active in the Pleistocene , with most of the volcano constructed by lava flows that erupted between 1.36 and 1.56 million years ago. Later glaciers developed on the mountain. There is a cave with several mummies about halfway up and an ancient village at
128-419: A magmatic arc ) is a belt of volcanoes formed above a subducting oceanic tectonic plate , with the belt arranged in an arc shape as seen from above. Volcanic arcs typically parallel an oceanic trench , with the arc located further from the subducting plate than the trench. The oceanic plate is saturated with water, mostly in the form of hydrous minerals such as micas , amphiboles , and serpentines . As
192-447: A tectonic plate composed of relatively thin, dense oceanic lithosphere sinks into the Earth's mantle beneath a less dense overriding plate. The overriding plate may be either another oceanic plate or a continental plate. The subducting plate, or slab , sinks into the mantle at an angle, so that there is a wedge of mantle between the slab and the overriding plate. The boundary between
256-700: A chain of volcanoes known as the Serranía Intersalar, which lies within the so-called Pica gap where recent volcanism is rare. This chain of volcanoes was active starting from the Oligocene to the Quaternary . Tunupa is formed principally by andesite , trachyandesite and trachydacite , forming a potassium -rich calc-alkaline suite. The rocks contain phenocrysts of amphibole , biotite , clinopyroxene , uncommon olivine , uncommon orthopyroxene , oxides and plagioclase . The lava domes are more silicic than
320-399: A few percent during the daytime. The combination of all these features makes Salar de Uyuni about five times better for satellite calibration than the surface of an ocean. Using Salar de Uyuni as the target, ICESat has already achieved the short-term elevation measurement accuracy of below 2 centimeters (0.79 in). By using data from MISR to perform passive optical bathymetry when
384-451: A joint venture with ACI Systems Alemania GmbH. Salar de Uyuni is estimated to contain 10 billion tonnes (9.8 billion long tons; 11 billion short tons) of salt, of which less than 25,000 t is extracted annually. All miners working in the Salar belong to Colchani's cooperative. Because of its location, large area, and flatness, the Salar is a major car transport route across
448-439: A maximal depth of 140 meters (460 ft), and an estimated age of 13,000 to 18,000 or 14,900 to 26,100 years, depending on the source. The youngest prehistoric lake was Coipasa, which was radiocarbon dated to 11,500 to 13,400 years ago. When it dried, it left behind two modern lakes, Poopó and Uru Uru , and two major salt deserts, Salar de Coipasa and the larger Salar de Uyuni. Salar de Uyuni spreads over 10,582 km , which
512-440: A narrow arc some distance from the trench. The distance from the trench to the volcanic arc is greater for slabs subducting at a shallower angle, and this suggests that magma generation takes place when the slab reached a critical depth for the breakdown of an abundant hydrous mineral. This would produce an ascending "hydrous curtain" that accounts for focused volcanism along the volcanic arc. However, some models suggest that water
576-436: A new location at the eastern edge of Salar de Uyuni, 25 km away from the town of Uyuni . The sanitary system has been restructured to comply with the government regulations. The hotel has a dry sauna and a steam room, a saltwater pool and whirlpool baths. One major tourist attraction is an antique train cemetery. It is 3 km (1.9 miles) outside Uyuni and is connected to it by the old train tracks. The town served in
640-647: A peak at 21 °C (70 °F) in November to January, and a low of 13 °C (55 °F) in June. The nights are cold all through the year, with temperatures between −9 and 5 °C (16 and 41 °F). The relative humidity is rather low and constant throughout the year at 30% to 45%. The rainfall is also low at 1 to 3 mm (0.039 to 0.118 in) per month between April and November, but it may increase up to 80 mm (3.1 in) in January. However, except for January, even in
704-601: A shell be bent downwards by an angle of θ, without tearing or wrinkling, only on a circle whose radius is θ/2. This means that arcs where the subducting slab descends at a shallower angle will be more tightly curved. Prominent arcs whose slabs subduct at about 45 degrees, such as the Kuril Islands , the Aleutian Islands , and the Sunda Arc , have a radius of about 20 to 22 degrees. Volcanic arcs are divided into those in which
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#1733093573979768-448: A subduction zone. The active front of a volcanic arc is the belt where volcanism develops at a given time. Active fronts may move over time (millions of years), changing their distance from the oceanic trench as well as their width. A volcanic arc is part of an arc-trench complex , which is the part of a subduction zone that is visible at the Earth's surface. A subduction zone is where
832-663: Is a high plateau, which was formed during uplift of the Andes mountains. The plateau includes fresh and saltwater lakes as well as salt flats and is endorheic . The geological history of the Salar is associated with a sequential transformation between several vast lakes. Some 30,000 to 42,000 years ago, the area was part of a giant prehistoric lake, Lake Minchin . Its age was estimated by radiocarbon dating shells from outcropping sediments and carbonate reefs and varies between reported studies. Lake Minchin (named after Juan B. Minchin of Oruro) later transformed into Paleo Lake Tauca having
896-434: Is also present, and islands in the Salar (in particular Incahuasi Island ) host colonies of rabbit-like viscachas . Salar de Uyuni is a popular tourist destination, and consequently a number of hotels have been built in the area. Due to lack of conventional construction materials, many of them are almost entirely (walls, roof, furniture) built with salt blocks cut from the Salar. The first such hotel, named Palacio de Sal ,
960-454: Is burned as a fuel. Also present are quinoa plants and queñua bushes. Every November, Salar de Uyuni is the breeding ground for three South American species of flamingo feeding on local brine shrimps : the Chilean , Andean , and rare James's flamingos . About 80 other bird species are present, including the horned coot , Andean goose , and Andean hillstar . The Andean fox, or culpeo ,
1024-408: Is continuously released from the slab from shallow depths down to 70 to 300 kilometers (43 to 186 mi), and much of the water released at shallow depths produces serpentinization of the overlying mantle wedge. According to one model, only about 18 to 37 percent of the water content is released at sufficient depth to produce arc magmatism. The volcanic arc is then interpreted as the depth at which
1088-416: Is covered with a solid salt crust varying in thickness between tens of centimeters and a few meters. The center of the Salar contains a few islands, which are the remains of the tops of ancient volcanoes submerged during the era of Lake Minchin. They include unusual and fragile coral-like structures and deposits that often consist of fossils and algae. The area has a relatively stable average temperature with
1152-431: Is formed. Arc volcanism takes place where the slab descends out from under the cool shallow corner, allowing magma to be generated and rise through warmer, less stiff mantle rock. Magma may be generated over a broad area but become focused into a narrow volcanic arc by a permeability barrier at the base of the overriding plate. Numerical simulations suggest that crystallization of rising magma creates this barrier, causing
1216-583: Is in the Daniel Campos Province in Potosí in southwest Bolivia , near the crest of the Andes at an elevation of 3,656 m (11,995 ft) above sea level. The Salar was formed as a result of transformations between several prehistoric lakes that existed around forty thousand years ago but had all evaporated over time. It is now covered by a few meters of salt crust, which has an extraordinary flatness with
1280-440: Is just 400,000 years old, at the southeast end of the chain over the hotspot. Volcanic arcs do not generally exhibit such a simple age-pattern. There are two types of volcanic arcs: In some situations, a single subduction zone may show both aspects along its length, as part of a plate subducts beneath a continent and part beneath adjacent oceanic crust. The Aleutian Islands and adjoining Alaskan Peninsula are an example of such
1344-415: Is lost from the subducted plate when the temperature and pressure become sufficient to break down these minerals and release their water content. The water rises into the wedge of mantle overlying the slab and lowers the melting point of mantle rock to the point where magma is generated. While there is wide agreement on the general mechanism, research continues on the explanation for focused volcanism along
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#17330935739791408-546: Is low in volcanic arc rocks. Because volcanic rock is easily weathered and eroded , older volcanic arcs are seen as plutonic rocks , the rocks that formed underneath the arc (e.g. the Sierra Nevada batholith ), or in the sedimentary record as lithic sandstones . Paired metamorphic belts , in which a belt of high-temperature, low-pressure metamorphism is located parallel to a belt of low-temperature, high-pressure metamorphism, preserve an ancient arc-trench complex in which
1472-470: Is no present-day permanent ice on Tunupa as the region is too dry but the mountain was glaciated in the past, and large valley glaciers descended to elevations of 3,650–3,700 metres (11,980–12,140 ft) when they reached their largest extent. Later shorter glaciers reoccupied the same valleys; outwash gravel deposits are found downstream below the moraines , such as below the Chalchala and Pocolli valleys on
1536-615: Is particularly characteristic of volcanic arcs, though it sometimes also occurs in regions of crustal extension. In the rock record, volcanic arcs can be recognized from their thick sequences of volcaniclastic rock (formed by explosive volcanism) interbedded with greywackes and mudstones and by their calc-alkaline composition. In more ancient rocks that have experienced metamorphism and alteration of their composition ( metasomatism ), calc-alkaline rocks can be distinguished by their content of trace elements that are little affected by alteration, such as chromium or titanium , whose content
1600-534: Is responsible for the formation of the Altiplano high plateau; the Tibetan Plateau is the only other place in the world where oceanic subduction has generated a high plateau. Volcanism in the Andes occurs in a frontal volcanic arc , but also in the back-arc region. This back-arc volcanism that Tunupa is part of has an uncertain origin; one proposed process is delamination , whereby the lowermost mafic section of
1664-618: Is roughly 100 times the size of the Bonneville Salt Flats in the United States. Lake Poopó is a neighbor of the much larger Lake Titicaca . During the wet season, Titicaca overflows and discharges into Poopó, which in turn, floods Salar De Coipasa and Salar de Uyuni. Lacustrine mud that is interbedded with salt and saturated with brine underlies the surface of Salar de Uyuni. The brine is a saturated solution of sodium chloride , lithium chloride , and magnesium chloride in water. It
1728-573: The crust and lithosphere underneath separates itself from the above lying layers. This separation process then triggers volcanic activity through either decompression melting, dehydration melting, increases in temperature, or some combination of these processes. Back-arc volcanism in the region started about 25-30 million years ago. East of Tunupa lie the Huayrana lavas, which are much older ( Potassium-argon dating has yielded an age of 11.1 ± 0.4 million years ago). Tunupa and Sillajhuay farther west form
1792-492: The "islands" of the Salar; or as "salt-flat at Uyuni (the town named 'pen for animals')". Aymara legend tells that the mountains Tunupa , Kusku, and Kusina, which surround the Salar, were giant people. Tunupa married Kusku, but Kusku ran away from her with Kusina. Grieving Tunupa started to cry while breastfeeding her son. Her tears mixed with milk and formed the Salar. Many locals consider the Tunupa an important deity and say that
1856-544: The 1980s and 1990s by foreign companies met strong opposition from the local community. Locals believed that the money infused by mining would not reach them. The lithium in the salt flats contains more impurities, and the wet climate and high altitude make it harder to process. No mining plant is currently at the site, and the Bolivian government does not want to allow exploitation by foreign corporations. Instead, it intends to reach an annual production of 35,000 t by 2023 in
1920-498: The Bolivian Altiplano , except when seasonally covered with water. Salar means salt flat in Spanish. Uyuni originates from the Aymara language and means a pen (enclosure) ; Uyuni is a surname and the name of a town that serves as a gateway for tourists visiting the Salar. Thus Salar de Uyuni can be loosely translated as a salt flat with enclosures, the latter possibly referring to
1984-644: The Salar de Uyuni. Lithium is concentrated in the brine under the salt crust at a relatively high concentration of about 0.3%. It is also present in the top layers of the porous halite body lying under the brine; however, the liquid brine is easier to extract, by boring into the crust and pumping out the brine. The brine distribution has been monitored by the Landsat satellite and confirmed in ground drilling tests. Following those findings, an American-based international corporation has invested $ 137 million to developing lithium extraction. However, lithium extraction in
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2048-413: The average elevation variations within one meter over the entire area of the Salar. The crust serves as a source of salt and covers a pool of brine , which is exceptionally rich in lithium . The large area, clear skies, and exceptional flatness of the surface make the Salar ideal for calibrating the altimeters of Earth observation satellites. Following rain, a thin layer of dead calm water transforms
2112-461: The backarc of the Central Andes is represented by several types of volcanoes, including several monogenetic volcanoes , stratovolcanoes such as Cerro Tuzgle , Tunupa and Uturunku and large ignimbrites like Altiplano-Puna volcanic complex , Galán , Los Frailes volcanic field and Morococala . The volcano rises about 1.8 kilometres (1.1 mi) above the surrounding terrain, the summit of
2176-695: The crust and magmatic underplating contribute to thickening of the crust. Volcanic arcs are characterized by explosive eruption of calc-alkaline magma, though young arcs sometimes erupt tholeiitic magma and a few arcs erupt alkaline magma. Calc-alkaline magma can be distinguished from tholeiitic magma, typical of mid-ocean ridges , by its higher aluminium and lower iron content and by its high content of large-ion lithophile elements, such as potassium , rubidium , caesium , strontium , or barium , relative to high-field-strength elements, such as zirconium , niobium , hafnium , rare-earth elements (REE), thorium , uranium , or tantalum . Andesite
2240-402: The degree of melting becomes great enough to allow the magma to separate from its source rock. It is now known that the subducting slab may be located anywhere from 60 to 173 kilometers (37 to 107 mi) below the volcanic arc, rather than a single characteristic depth of around 120 kilometers (75 mi), which requires more elaborate models of arc magmatism. For example, water released from
2304-504: The dry climate of the region limits the development of glaciers ; average precipitation is less than 200 millimetres per year (7.9 in/year) in the southwestern Altiplano. Initial Potassium-argon dating has yielded ages of 2.5 ± 0.5 and 1.8 ± 0.2 million years ago on samples from Tunupa. Later performed argon-argon dating produced ages between 1.55 ± 0.01 and 1.40 ± 0.04 million years ago, with even younger dates of 440,000 ± 40,000 years before present. The main edifice developed first,
2368-525: The existence of Lake Tauca before present and the last one occurred during the Younger Dryas . The southern slopes of Tunupa are incised by the shorelines of former lakes that occupied the Altiplano, such as Lake Minchin and Lake Tauca . Crusts of algae , stromatolites and river deltas are also found at these former shorelines. Over seven separate shoreline stages have been identified at Tunupa, which
2432-412: The flat into the world's largest mirror, 129 km (80 miles) across. The Salar serves as the major transport route across the Bolivian Altiplano and is a prime breeding ground for several species of flamingos . Salar de Uyuni is also a climatological transitional zone since the towering tropical cumulus congestus and cumulonimbus incus clouds that form in the eastern part of the salt flat during
2496-455: The flat is flooded and calibrating the resultant water depth model with topographical data from the laser altimeter of ICESat , it has been shown that the Salar de Uyuni is not perfectly flat. The 2006 analysis revealed previously missed features: ridges between 20 and 30 centimeters (8 and 10 in) in height that are roughly sinusoidal with a wavelength of 5 kilometres (3 mi) (clearly visible in 1973 and 1975 LandSat images, and still in
2560-531: The foot with a modest "salt hotel". Tunupa is located in Bolivia , at the centre of the Altiplano about 115 kilometres (71 mi) east of the main volcanic arc . It forms a peninsula in the Salar de Uyuni , which surrounds the volcano on its southern side. The volcano is located within the Salinas de Garci-Mendoza municipality, and the towns of Ayque , Coquesa and Jirira lie on its southern slopes. Volcanism in
2624-497: The high-temperature, low-pressure belt corresponds to the volcanic arc. In a subduction zone , loss of water from the subducted slab induces partial melting of the overriding mantle and generates low-density, calc-alkaline magma that buoyantly rises to intrude and be extruded through the lithosphere of the overriding plate. Most of the water carried downwards by the slab is contained in hydrous (water-bearing) minerals, such as mica , amphibole , or serpentinite minerals. Water
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2688-428: The largest salt flat on Earth, Salar de Uyuni is especially suitable for this purpose. In the low-rain period from April to November, due to the absence of industry and its high elevation, the skies above Salar de Uyuni are very clear, and the air is dry (relative humidity is about 30%; rainfall is roughly 1 millimetre or 0.039 inches per month). It has a stable surface, smoothed by seasonal flooding — water dissolves
2752-409: The lava domes were emplaced later. The volcano is considered to be extinct. In Aymara legends, Tunupa is personified as a deity with varying attributes and often linked to legends about the origin of the Salar de Uyuni. Salar de Uyuni Salar de Uyuni (or "Salar de Tunupa") is the world's largest salt flat , or playa , at 10,582 square kilometres (4,086 sq mi) in area. It
2816-724: The main volcanic edifice. An average magma output of 0.00043–0.00093 cubic kilometres per year (0.00010–0.00022 cu mi/a) has been estimated, which is comparable to Lascar and Parinacota . Delamination of the crust, hydration-induced melting and magma mixing processes have been used to explain the magma chemistry at Tunupa. It has been proposed that as the lower crust undergoes delamination, certain water-containing minerals such as amphibole and phlogopite become unstable and enrich magma with niobium , tantal and titanium . Average temperatures at Oruro are 9.5 °C (49.1 °F). While they decrease to 0 °C (32 °F) at an elevation of about 4,800 metres (15,700 ft),
2880-444: The oceanic plate is subducted, it is subjected to increasing pressure and temperature with increasing depth. The heat and pressure break down the hydrous minerals in the plate, releasing water into the overlying mantle. Volatiles such as water drastically lower the melting point of the mantle , causing some of the mantle to melt and form magma at depth under the overriding plate. The magma ascends to form an arc of volcanoes parallel to
2944-415: The overriding plate is continental (Andean-type arcs) and those in which the overriding plate is oceanic (intraoceanic or primitive arcs). The crust beneath the arc is up to twice as thick as average continental or oceanic crust: The crust under Andean-type arcs is up to 80 kilometers (50 mi) thick, while the crust under intraoceanic arcs is 20 to 35 kilometers (12 to 22 mi) thick. Both shortening of
3008-433: The overriding plate over the point where the subducting plate reaches a depth of roughly 120 kilometres (75 mi) and is a zone of volcanic activity between 50 and 200 kilometers (31 and 124 mi) in width. The shape of a volcanic arc is typically convex towards the subducting plate. This is a consequence of the spherical geometry of the Earth. The subducting plate behaves like a flexible thin spherical shell, and such
3072-546: The past as a distribution hub for the trains carrying minerals en route to Pacific Ocean ports. The rail lines were built by British engineers arriving near the end of the 19th century and formed a sizeable community in Uyuni. The engineers were invited by the British-sponsored Antofagasta and Bolivia Railway Companies, now Ferrocarril de Antofagasta a Bolivia . The rail construction started in 1888 and ended in 1892. It
3136-450: The place should be called Salar de Tunupa rather than Salar de Uyuni. The Salar is virtually devoid of any wildlife or vegetation. The latter is dominated by giant cacti ( Echinopsis atacamensis pasacana , Echinopsis tarijensis , etc.). They grow at a rate of about 1 cm/a to a height of about 12 m (39 ft). Other shrubs include Pilaya, which is used by locals to cure catarrh , and Thola ( Baccharis dracunculifolia ), which
3200-504: The rainy season the number of rainy days is fewer than 5 per month. Located in the Lithium Triangle , the Salar contains a large amount of sodium , potassium , lithium and magnesium (all in the chloride forms of NaCl , KCl , LiCl and MgCl 2 , respectively), as well as borax . As of 2024, with an estimated 23 mln. t , Bolivia holds about 22% of the world's known lithium resources (105 mln. tons); most of those are in
3264-410: The released water lowers the melting point of the overlying mantle wedge enough for melting. The location of the volcanic arc may be determined by the presence of a cool shallow corner at the tip of the mantle wedge, where the mantle rock is cooled by both the overlying plate and the slab. Not only does the cool shallow corner suppress melting, but its high stiffness hinders the ascent of any magma that
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#17330935739793328-633: The remaining magma to pool in a narrow band at the apex of the barrier. This narrow band corresponds to the overlying volcanic arc. Two classic examples of oceanic island arcs are the Mariana Islands in the western Pacific Ocean and the Lesser Antilles in the western Atlantic Ocean. The Cascade Volcanic Arc in western North America and the Andes along the western edge of South America are examples of continental volcanic arcs. The best examples of volcanic arcs with both sets of characteristics are in
3392-435: The salt surface and thus keeps it leveled. As a result, the variation in the surface elevation over the 10,582-square-kilometer (4,086 sq mi) area of Salar de Uyuni is less than 1 meter (3 ft 3 in) normal to the Earth's circumference, and there are few square kilometers on Earth that are as flat. The surface reflectivity ( albedo ) for ultraviolet light is relatively high at 0.69 and shows variations of only
3456-480: The same places decades later), and a moat around the periphery that is 1–3 kilometers (0.6–2 mi) wide and 20 to 50 centimetres (8 to 20 in) deep. They originate from the variation in material density, and thus the gravitational force, beneath the Salar's sediments. Just as the ocean surface rises over denser seamounts , the salt flat surface also rises and falls to reflect the subsurface density variations. Volcanic arc A volcanic arc (also known as
3520-412: The slab at moderate depths might react with amphibole minerals in the lower part of the mantle wedge to produce water-rich chlorite . This chlorite-rich mantle rock is then dragged downwards by the subducting slab, and eventually breaks down to become the source of arc magmatism. The location of the arc depends on the angle and rate of subduction, which determine where hydrous minerals break down and where
3584-414: The southern flank of the volcano where most glacial landforms are found. Glacial landforms include glacial striae and ice drift deposits are found on the volcano, as are several extensive moraine systems. Three separate stages of glaciation have been inferred at Tunupa, one dating proposal dates the first advance to about 160,000 before present, the second lasts until about 15,000 years/may coincide with
3648-507: The subducting plate and the overriding plate coincides with a deep and narrow oceanic trench . This trench is created by the gravitational pull of the relatively dense subducting plate pulling the leading edge of the plate downward. Multiple earthquakes occur within the subducting slab with the seismic hypocenters located at increasing depth under the island arc: these quakes define the Wadati–Benioff zones . The volcanic arc forms on
3712-406: The subduction zone. Volcanic arcs are distinct from volcanic chains formed over hotspots in the middle of a tectonic plate. Volcanoes often form one after another as the plate moves over the hotspot, and so the volcanoes progress in age from one end of the chain to the other. The Hawaiian Islands form a typical hotspot chain, with the older islands to the northwest and Hawaii Island itself, which
3776-569: The summer cannot permeate beyond its drier western edges, near the Chilean border and the Atacama Desert . The Salar has been used as a filming location for movies such as Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017; as planet Crait), The Fall (2006), Salt and Fire (2016), The Unseen (2017), and several others. Salar de Uyuni is part of the Altiplano of Bolivia in South America. The Altiplano
3840-473: The train cemetery. There are proposals to build a museum from the cemetery. Fatal incidents have occurred at the salt flat as a result of poorly maintained vehicles, untrained drivers, speeding, a disregard for the inhospitable conditions, and lack of regulation for tour companies. Salt flats are ideal for calibrating the distance measurement equipment of satellites because they are large, stable surfaces with strong reflection, similar to that of ice sheets. As
3904-404: The volcano is heavily hydrothermally altered and its summit crater degraded by erosion, with crags representing remnants of the old lava conduit. Several lava domes were emplaced on top of lava flows from Tunupa on its eastern flank. Pyroclastic flows are found on the northern flank. Erosion and glaciation have generated a deposit of eroded material that surrounds much of the volcano. There
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#17330935739793968-412: Was encouraged by Bolivian President Aniceto Arce , who believed Bolivia would flourish with a good transport system, but it was also constantly sabotaged by the local Aymara indigenous Indians who saw it as an intrusion into their lives. The trains were mostly used by the mining companies. In the 1940s, the mining industry collapsed, partly because of mineral depletion. Many trains were abandoned, producing
4032-400: Was erected in 1993–1995 in the middle of the salt flat, and soon became a popular tourist destination. However, its location in the center of a desert caused sanitation problems, as most waste had to be collected manually. Mismanagement caused serious environmental pollution and the hotel had to be dismantled in 2002. Around 2007, a new hotel was built, under the name Palacio de Sal, in
4096-512: Was part of an island in Lake Tauca . It is likely that evaporation from the lake increased precipitation at Tunupa and thus allowed glaciers to grow to larger sizes than they would have without such evaporation. Subduction has been occurring off the western margin of South America for the past 200 million years. Presently, the Nazca Plate is subducting eastward below South America. The subduction
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