Prehistoric to historic volcanic activity at Copahue Volcano

Abstract

Copahue is one of the most active volcanic centers in Argentina. Despite the relatively intense volcanic activity its prehistoric events are poorly known. In this work, after a brief introduction on the geological and structural control on this volcanic complex, we have summarized the events that have led to the construction of the current volcanic edifice and its historical eruptive activity. Prehistoric events were divided into three main stages: pre-, sin- and post-glacial based on the stratigraphic relations observed in the field by previous authors. At least 13 eruptions were recorded during the last 260 years. Although the scarce detailed historical information, the eruptive style outlined by the available reports and data seems to indicate a general phreatic and phreato-magmatic character over the last two centuries, whereas the most recent (2000 and 2012) eruptive events, characterized by the occurrence of magmatic pulses, have a strombolian character.