El Valle (volcano)

Last updated
El Valle
El valle.jpg
El Valle in 1998
Highest point
Elevation 1,185 m (3,888 ft)
Coordinates 8°34′48″N80°10′12″W / 8.58000°N 80.17000°W / 8.58000; -80.17000 Coordinates: 8°34′48″N80°10′12″W / 8.58000°N 80.17000°W / 8.58000; -80.17000
Geography
Panama relief location map.jpg
Red triangle with thick white border.svg
El Valle
Geology
Mountain type Stratovolcano
Last eruption Unknown
Perspective view with color-coded shaded relief of Central Panama from the southwest, with El Valle in the foreground PIA03369 Perspective View with Color-Coded Shaded Relief Central Panama.jpg
Perspective view with color-coded shaded relief of Central Panama from the southwest, with El Valle in the foreground

El Valle is a stratovolcano in central Panama and is the easternmost volcano along the Central American Volcanic Arc which has been formed by the subduction of the Nazca Plate below Central America. Some time prior to 200,000 years ago, the volcano underwent a huge eruption event that caused the top of the volcano to collapse into the empty magma chamber below forming a large caldera. Several lava domes have developed inside the caldera since the collapse—forming Cerro Pajita, Cerro Gaital and Cerro Caracoral peaks. Prior to research in the early 1990s, it was thought that no active volcanism existed within Panama. But radioactive dates from El Valle show that the volcano last erupted as recently as 200,000 years ago. [1]

Contents

Work by de Boer et al. [2] and Defant et al. [3] [4] of other volcanoes within Panama have shown that there are two episodes of volcanism—young (< 2.5 million years ago) and old (> 4.5 million years ago) groups. The young volcanism consists of adakites (slab melts) whereas the older volcanism appears to be normal calc-alkaline volcanism.

See also

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Tastil volcanic complex is a volcanic group in Argentina.

The geology of Panama includes the complex tectonic interplay between the Pacific, Cocos and Nazca plates, the Caribbean Plate and the Panama Microplate.

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References

  1. Defant, M. J., Clark, L. F., Stewart, R. H., Drummond, M. S., de Boer, J. Z., Maury, R. C., Bellon, H., Jackson, T. E., and Restrepo, J. F., 1991, Andesite and dacite genesis via contrasting processes: the geology and geochemistry of El Valle Volcano, Panama: Contrib. Mineral. Petrol., v. 106, p. 309-324
  2. de Boer, J., Defant, M.J., Stewart R. H., Restrepo, J. F., Clark, L. F., and Ramierez A. H., 1988, Quaternary calc-alkaline volcanism in western Panama: Regional variation and implication for the plate tectonic framework: J. South American Earth Sciences, v. 1, p. 275-293.
  3. Defant, M. J., Richerson, P.M., de Boer, J. Z., Stewart, R. H., Maury, R. C., Bellon, H., Drummond, M. S., Feiganson, M. D., and Jackson, T. E., 1991, Dacite genesis via slab melting and differentiation: La Yeguada Volcanic Complex, Panama, J. Petrol., v. 32, p. 1101-1142.
  4. Defant, M. J., Jackson, T. E., Drummond, M. S., de Boer, J. Z., Bellon, H., Feigenson, M. D., Maury, R. C., and Stewart, R.H., 1992, The geochemistry of young volcanism throughout western Panama and southeastern Costa Rica: An overview: J. Geol. Soc. Lond., v. 149, p. 569-579.