Chinchillas (lava dome) (original) (raw)

Chinchillas is a lava dome complex in the northern Puna of the Andes, in the Sierra de Rinconada. The complex is constructed on an Ordovician basement called the . In addition to the dacitic lava dome on the southern end of the complex it also contains small volume massive pyroclastic flows and ash-and-block flows. The complex has a volume of 0.26 cubic kilometres (0.062 cu mi). The complex was formed 13±1 mya over a fault zone. Hydrothermal Ag-Pb-Zn deposits found there in breccia were mined occasionally. According to Coira et al. (1996) it, and may be part of a caldera system in the .