Ojos del Salado

Template:Short description Template:Featured article Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox mountain Nevado Ojos del Salado is a dormant complex volcano in the Andes on the Argentina–Chile border. It is the highest volcano on Earth and the highest peak in Chile. The upper reaches of Ojos del Salado consist of several overlapping lava domes, lava flows and volcanic craters, with sparse ice cover. The complex extends over an area of Template:Convert and its highest summit reaches an altitude of Template:Convert above sea level. Numerous other volcanoes rise around Ojos del Salado.

Being close to the Arid Diagonal of South America, the mountain has extremely dry conditions, which prevent the formation of substantial glaciers and a permanent snow cover. Despite the arid climate, there is a permanent crater lake about Template:Convert in diameter at an elevation of Template:Convert-Template:Convert within the summit crater and east of the main summit. This is the highest lake of any kind in the world. Owing to its altitude and the desiccated climate, the mountain lacks vegetation.

Ojos del Salado was volcanically active during the Pleistocene Template:Efn and Holocene,Template:Efn during which it mainly produced lava flows. Activity was in two phases and a depression or caldera formed in the course of its growth. The volcano was also impacted by eruptions of its neighbour to the west, Nevado Tres Cruces. The last eruption occurred around 750 CE; steam emissions observed in November 1993 may have constituted another eruptive event.

An international highway between Argentina and Chile crosses north of the mountain. Ojos del Salado can be ascended from both countries; the first ascent was made in 1937 by Jan Alfred Szczepański and Template:Ill, members of a Polish expedition in the Andes. During the middle of the 20th century there was a debate on whether Ojos del Salado or Aconcagua was the highest mountain in South America which was eventually resolved in favour of Aconcagua.

Name

The name Template:Lang {{#invoke:IPA|main}} refers to a river, Río SaladoTemplate:Efn ("Salty River"), that a 1937 Polish expedition used to reach the mountain.Template:Sfn It is unclear whether the name was already used before by a Chile-Argentina boundary commission.Template:Sfn In geographical terms, Ojo is commonly used in Chile and Argentina to denote a spring or source of water; e.g. the nearby source of the Las Lozas river "Ojo de las Lozas".Template:Sfn

The mountain is often referred to as Template:Lang Ojos del Salado and Template:Lang Ojos del Salado; the former is a common term for "mountain" in Chile and the latter means "snowy", referring to snow-covered mountains.Template:Sfn Another theory posits that the name means "salty eyes" or "salty springs", referring to mineral deposits on its flanks.Template:Sfn There are two summits, known as the eastern or Argentine and western or Chilean summit; both lie along the international boundary and get their names after the country from which they can be more easily reached.Template:Sfn

Geography and geomorphology

Ojos del Salado is part of the High AndesTemplate:Sfn and rises from the southern end of the Puna de Atacama,Template:Sfn a high plateau next to the Atacama Desert with an average elevation of Template:Convert.Template:Sfn The border between Argentina and Chile runs across the summit of the mountain in east-west direction.Template:Sfn The Argentine part is within Catamarca Province Template:Sfn and the Chilean in Copiapo Province Template:Sfn of the Atacama Region.Template:Sfn The highway Template:Ill runs between the city of Copiapo west of the volcano and the Paso San Francisco Template:Efn to Argentina,Template:Sfn lying about Template:Convert north of the volcano, making it more accessible than many other volcanoes there.Template:Sfn The region is uninhabited and lacks water resources; many parts are only accessible through dirt roads.Template:Sfn

Ojos del Salado is a dormant volcano that rises to Template:Convert,Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Convert Template:Sfn or Template:Convert elevation.Template:Sfn It is the world's highest volcanoTemplate:Efn and the second-highest summit of the Andes,Template:Sfn and the highest summit in Chile.Template:Sfn Ojos del Salado is not a single conical summit but a massif/complex volcano Template:Sfn Template:Sfn formed by overlapping smaller volcanoes,Template:Sfn with over 20 craters.Template:Sfn Two edifices, less than Template:Convert wide, flank the Template:Convert summit crater on its eastern and western side.Template:Sfn Basalt, gravel, pumice and scoria crop out in its rim, which is lower on the northern side.Template:Sfn A second Template:Convert crater lies just west of the summit crater.Template:Sfn Reportedly, the summit is separated by a deep gap into two separate peaks.Template:Sfn Thick short dacitic lava flows make up the core Template:Convert area of the volcano but pyroclastic fall material covers much of the summit area.Template:Sfn

The massif rises about Template:Convert above the surrounding terrain and covers an oval area of about Template:Convert Template:Sfn–Template:Convert,Template:Sfn consisting of lava domes, lava flows,Template:Sfn pyroclastic cones and volcanic craters Template:Sfn that rise about Template:Convert above the surrounding terrain.Template:Sfn The massif appears to feature a buried caldera,Template:Sfn visible through a slope break from the western side,Template:Sfn and/or a Template:Convert depression.Template:Sfn The occurrence of a rift-like structure with numerous small craters has also been reported.Template:Sfn Volcanic cones form a north-northeast trending alignment on the western flank.Template:Sfn Cerro Solo and El Fraile are large lava domes on the flanks of Ojos del Salado,Template:Sfn and produced pyroclastic flows.Template:Sfn

Wind-driven erosion has produced megaripple sand fields on the northern flank. Above Template:Convert elevation talus-covered slopes and lava flows form the bulk of the surface, while the desert plains begin below Template:Convert elevation.Template:Sfn The ground above Template:Convert elevation is expected to contain permafrost,Template:Sfn which is likely continuous at higher elevationsTemplate:Sfn and overlaid with a thin active layer.Template:Sfn Cryoturbation Template:Efn landforms were not conspicuous according to Nagy et al. 2019,Template:Sfn presumably because wind-driven phenomena overprint the effects of cryoturbation.Template:Sfn Mass movements have left traces on the mountain.Template:Sfn

Lakes

Ojos del Salado hosts the highest lake in the worldTemplate:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Efn in the form of the crater lake Template:Sfn in the summit crater.Template:Sfn Fed by permafrost and snowfields, it lies at Template:Convert elevation. It is surrounded by fumaroles and covers an area of Template:Convert. Waters in a creek flowing into this lake reach temperatures of Template:Convert.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn

There are two lakes at Template:Convert elevation on the northeastern slope, Template:Circa Template:Convert away from the higher lake. Each has an area of Template:Convert and an estimated depth of Template:Convert.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Ephemeral lakesTemplate:Efn occur at Template:Convert elevation,Template:Sfn when meltwater from permafrost accumulates in closed depressions.Template:Sfn Such ponds may form in depressions at Template:Convert elevation.Template:Sfn Some of the lakes may be permanently frozen.Template:Sfn Lakes might disappear with climate change owing to the breakdown of permafrost.Template:Sfn

Surroundings

The landscape is dominated by volcanoes,Template:Sfn many of Pleistocene or Holocene age,Template:Sfn and is the highest volcanic region in the world.Template:Sfn Young volcanoes have conical shapes and often feature summit craters.Template:Sfn Travellers have called the region a "moonscape".Template:Sfn There are hot springs in the region,Template:Sfn such as the Termas Laguna Verde at the shores of Laguna Verde, which are frequented by visitors.Template:Sfn

The volcano lies in the middle of an over Template:Convert long east–west trending chain of volcanoesTemplate:Sfn that form a drainage divide and includes the volcanoes Nevado Tres Cruces, Incahuasi Template:Sfn and Cerro Blanco. This chain of volcanoes appears to be part of the Ojos del Salado-San Buenaventura tectonic lineament,Template:Sfn which corresponds to a geographic (southern boundary of the Puna de Atacama)Template:Sfn and tectonic discontinuity in the region.Template:Sfn The lineament may be a consequence of the subduction of the Copiapo Ridge at this latitude.Template:Sfn An alternative view is that the subducting Copiapo Ridge is actually located north of the lineament; this would be more consistent with the theory that the subduction of such ridges gives rise to gaps in the volcanic chain.Template:Sfn

Ice and glaciers

Except for firn and small glaciers in sheltered parts of the mountain, Ojos del Salado lacks substantial ice cover. This is due to the arid climate of the region, which causes the equilibrium line altitude of ice to rise above the top of the mountainTemplate:Sfn and keeps most peaks in the area ice-free.Template:Sfn Only farther south at Tronquitos does more extensive glaciation begin.Template:Sfn Temporary ice and snow accumulations can be mistaken for glaciers,Template:Sfn and glacier areas shown on maps are often actually immobile firn fields.Template:Sfn The ice reaches thicknesses of only Template:Convert and areal extents of a few hundred metres. Meltwater feeds streams.Template:Sfn

Climbing parties in 1956 reported two glaciers on the northwestern slope,Template:Sfn a 1958 report indicated that an ice body at Template:Convert elevation descends into two branches and is followed at lower elevation by another glacier also with two branches—but in neither case with any evidence of movement—Template:Sfn and in 2014 there was ice in the summit craterTemplate:Sfn and substantial glaciers on the eastern and southern slopes, which reached elevations below Template:Convert.Template:Sfn There have been increases in ice area between 1974 and 1983Template:Sfn but between 1986 and 2000, ice area decreased by 40%.Template:Sfn The melting of the ice is expected to produce an increased discharge at first, but eventually ice diminishes to the point that runoff will decline.Template:Sfn

Penitentes have been encountered by climbers as early as 1937,Template:Sfn in 1949 there were reportedly Template:Convert high penitentes on Ojos del Salado.Template:Sfn Penitentes are high ice spiresTemplate:Sfn which form when ice sublimates in the intense insolation.Template:Sfn

Subsurface ice

Blue-ish ice emerges from underneath grey sand on a mountain slope

Ice buried beneath sand

Ice buried beneath sandTemplate:Sfn and encased in moraines is more important than surface ice at Ojos del Salado. It is retreating but the insulating effect of the cover slows the retreat.Template:Sfn Cryokarst,Template:Sfn erosional gullies and so-called "infilled valleys"Template:Efn have been observed; they most likely form when buried ice and snow melt.Template:Sfn The combined effect of erosion by the meltwater and the disappearance of ice volume creates cavities that collapse and form the valleys and pseudokarst landforms.Template:Sfn Pseudokarst landforms and dolines are other structures generated by the melting of buried ice.Template:Sfn

Past glaciation

Lateral moraines altered by wind erosion occur north of Ojos del SaladoTemplate:Sfn and some lava flows bear traces of glaciation.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Research published in 2019 found cirques and U-shaped valleys on Ojos del Salado.Template:Sfn However, there is no evidence of Pleistocene glacier advances in the regionTemplate:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Sfn nor any indication of a Pleistocene snowline,Template:Sfn Template:Sfn although cirques have been reported from Nevado Tres CrucesTemplate:Sfn and some sources propose the existence of glaciers 19,000 years ago.Template:Sfn The monsoon reached farther south during the Pleistocene but did not reach Ojos del Salado, allowing the development of glaciers only at more northern latitudes.Template:Sfn Westerly winds did not regularly influence the climate at the volcano, either.Template:Sfn

Geology

In South America, there are about 200 volcanoes with evidence of eruptions during the Pleistocene and HoloceneTemplate:Sfn along the western coast, where the Nazca Plate and Antarctic Plate subducts beneath the South America Plate in the Peru-Chile Trench. Volcanic activity is localized in four major volcanic belts, the Northern, Central (CVZ), Southern and Austral Volcanic Zones; these are separated by belts without volcanic activityTemplate:Sfn and form part of the Pacific Ring of Fire.Template:Sfn Where volcanic activity occurs, the subduction process releases fluids from the downgoing slab which trigger the formation of melts in the mantle that eventually ascend to the surface and give rise to volcanism.Template:Sfn Template:Efn

The CVZ spans Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina and contains about 1,100 recognized volcanoes, many of which are extremely old and are still recognizable owing to the low erosion rates in the region.Template:Sfn Apart from stratovolcanoes, the CVZ includes numerous calderas, isolated lava domes and lava flows, maars and pyroclastic cones. Most of the volcanoes are remote and thus constitute a low hazard.Template:Sfn Ojos del Salado is part of the CVZ and constitutes its southern boundary.Template:Efn South of the volcanoTemplate:Sfn volcanism ceased during the last six million yearsTemplate:Sfn and until 32° south, subduction takes place at a shallow angle and volcanism is absent in the "Pampean flat-slab". The shallow angle may be a consequence of the subduction of submarine topography, such as the Copiapo Ridge at the northern end of the Juan Fernández Ridge at the southern margin of the gap.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn

Local

The basement in the region crops out in the Cordillera Claudio Gay area, and consists of sedimentary rocks of Devonian Template:Efn-Carboniferous Template:Efn age. The rocks are intruded by and covered by granites and rhyolites associated with Permian volcanic rocks and the Choiyoi Group. Oligocene Template:Efn to recent volcanic rocks and volcano-sedimentary formations cover this basement.Template:Sfn The topography at Ojos del Salado bears evidence of what may have been past magmatic uplift.Template:Sfn Seismic tomography has yielded evidence of a low seismic velocity anomaly underneath the volcano that may constitute the pathway through which water emanating from the downgoing slab rises through the mantle and gives rise to melting.Template:Sfn

Volcanism in the region commenced 26 million years ago, when the Farallon Plate broke up and subduction speed increased. Initially between 26 and 11 million years ago activity was concentrated in the Maricunga region Template:Convert west of the Ojos del Salado region, where only small-volume volcanism took place and which constituted the back-arc to the Maricunga arc. Between 8–5 million years ago activity declined in the Maricunga region and increased in the Ojos del Salado region, until Maricunga volcanism ceased 4 million years ago. This shift coincided with a gradual flattening of the subduction process since the Miocene Template:Efn and was accompanied by change in crustal and mantle properties that are reflected in the isotope ratios of erupted volcanic rocks.Template:Sfn During the Quaternary, volcanism formed the edifices of Cerro Solo, El Fraile, Incahuasi, El Muerto, El Muertito, Falso Azufre, Nevado San Francisco, Nevado Tres Cruces and Ojos del Salado, which together cover over half of the area.Template:Sfn Apart from the large volcanoes, many smaller mafic monogenetic volcanoes developed in the area, especially east of Ojos del Salado.Template:Sfn Pleistocene volcanism was limited to the Ojos del Salado area, where recent faulting offset volcanic rocks.Template:Sfn The large dimensions of Ojos del Salado indicate that magmatism was focused here.Template:Sfn

Composition

Volcanic rocks erupted by Ojos del Salado form a calc-alkaline Template:Sfn potassium-rich suite of dacitic rocks,Template:Sfn with occasional andesite and rhyodacite.Template:Sfn Earlier in the geological history of the region more mafic magmas also erupted. The rocks contain phenocrysts like augite, biotite, hornblende, hypersthene, opaque minerals, plagioclase, pyroxene and quartz.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Magma mixing phenomena produced olivine and pyroxene xenocrysts and amphibole reaction rims.Template:Sfn

Eruption history

Volcanic activity probably commenced 3.3–1.5 million years agoTemplate:Sfn or during the late Pleistocene.Template:Sfn The 3.7±0.2 million years old Las Lozas Andesite may have been a precursor of Ojos del Salado.Template:Sfn The oldest rocks of Ojos del Salado are 3.5–3.4 million years old dacites in the lower parts of the volcano.Template:Sfn Argentine geological maps define a "Ojos del Salado basal complex", which consists of a number of Miocene volcanoes that have erupted andesite and dacite, partially in glacial environments.Template:Sfn

The volcano developed in two stages, with the more recent one grown on top of the older.Template:Sfn A somma volcano structure may have formed during an eruption that generated the pumice deposits on the lower slopes of the volcano, and there are potential air fall deposits north of it. Ojos del Salado mayTemplate:Sfn or may not have produced pyroclastic flows; the neighbouring Nevado Tres Cruces Template:Circa 67,000 years ago produced extensive deposits on and around Ojos del Salado and in the valley between the two volcanoes; these were originally interpreted to have originated at Ojos del Salado.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Sfn A pyroclastic flow erupted by Ojos del Salado descended the Cazadero valley and constitutes the "El Quemado Ignimbrite".Template:Sfn Cerro Solo, whose emplacement was probably accompanied by intense pyroclastic flow activity,Template:Sfn and lava domes in the summit region are of Pleistocene age.Template:Sfn The long-term growth rate of Ojos del Salado amounts to Template:Convert.Template:Sfn

Radiometric dating has yielded ages of 1.53 ± 0.13,Template:Sfn 1.2 ± 0.3 million and less than one million years ago for rocks in the northwestern part of Ojos del Salado,Template:Sfn 1.08 ± 0.09 million years for flows underlying the summit,Template:Sfn 1.08 ± 0.04 million years for the northern flank of Ojos del Salado, 700,000±50,000 for its western flank, 450,000±60,000 for El Muerto,Template:Sfn 340,000 ± 190,000 years for the summit rocks,Template:Sfn and 230,000±40,000 years for El Fraile.Template:Sfn Lava flows and a lava dome on the northern flank have yielded ages of 100,000 ± 17,000 and 35,000 years, respectively.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn The "El Quemado Ignimbrite" may be either 200,000 or less than 50,000 years old.Template:Sfn The youngest dates reported are 30,000 years ago.Template:Sfn

Holocene and historical activity

The volcano produced lava flows during the Holocene,Template:Sfn which cover an area of Template:Convert, as well as pumice deposits at Laguna Verde and elongated fractures in the summit region.Template:Sfn A rhyodacitic eruptionTemplate:Sfn was dated with tephrochronology to have occurred 750 ± 250 CE,Template:Sfn and may have deposited tephra over the Bolson de Fiambala and in the Tafí and Villa Vil areas of northwestern Argentina.Template:Sfn Many volcanic rocks have a fresh appearance but there is no clear evidence of recent activity.Template:Sfn

There are no confirmed historical eruptionsTemplate:Sfn Template:Efn and the volcano is presently inactive.Template:Sfn In November 1993, observers witnessed ash and steam columns on two separate daysTemplate:Sfn but no deformation of the volcano was observed by satellites during this occasion.Template:Sfn An ash cloud observed on June 13, 2015, and which led to a warnings about volcanic ash to aircraft turned out to be wind-blown volcanic ash in the Fiambala valley.Template:Sfn Seismic activity has been reported.Template:Sfn

Hazards

There is no information on volcanic hazards at Ojos del SaladoTemplate:Sfn and volcanic hazards in the Central Volcanic Zone are poorly reconnoitred,Template:Sfn but a 2018 presentation at the University of Auckland ranked it 14th of 38 Argentine volcanoesTemplate:Sfn and the Chilean geological agency SERNAGEOMIN 75th out of 92, thus as a very low risk volcano.Template:Sfn The latter has published hazard maps for the Chilean part of the volcano.Template:Sfn Future eruptions would most likely produce lava domes, lava flows and minor explosive activity,Template:Sfn and the presence of ice on the mountain makes it a potential source for lahars.Template:Sfn Effects would most likely be limited to the direct surroundings of the volcano, such as highway Template:Ill.Template:Sfn

Fumarolic activity

There are fumaroles that emit sulfurous fumes.Template:Sfn Polish climbers in 1937 first observed this activity, Template:Convert below the summitTemplate:Sfn and in the summit crater.Template:Sfn Fumarolic activity appears to be linked to a rift structure on the volcano.Template:Sfn Climbers in 1957 reported that the fumaroles were noisy and the emissions intense enough that with unfavourable winds they could suffocate people.Template:Sfn The fumaroles can be observed from satellites in the form of temperature anomalies which reach Template:Convert above background temperatures,Template:Sfn but the steam plumes are poorly visible from the ground except from close distanceTemplate:Sfn or during episodes of increased fumarolic activity.Template:Sfn Geysers have been reported in the summit region.Template:Sfn Hot springs occur at the shores of Laguna VerdeTemplate:Sfn which may be part of a hydrothermal circulation system of Ojos del Salado.Template:Sfn According to a 2020 publication, the mountain was being evaluated for the generation of geothermal power.Template:Sfn

Climate

Detailed climate data do not exist for the area.Template:Sfn The Puna de Atacama region has an extreme climate with strong wind, high elevation, a dry climateTemplate:Sfn and high insolation;Template:Sfn the area is inTemplate:Sfn or just south of the Arid Diagonal.Template:Sfn

Temperatures at lower elevations can exceed Template:Convert but mean annual temperatures only reach Template:Convert.Template:Sfn Mean winds at Laguna Verde reach maximum speeds of Template:Convert in winter, on the mountaintops they can exceed Template:Convert and can impede climbing attempts. Winds blow strongest in the afternoon.Template:Sfn The winds produce aeolian landforms such as aeolian sediments,Template:Sfn dunes, gravel pavements, abraded rocks and megaripples at lower elevations,Template:Sfn and redeposit snow.Template:Sfn

Precipitation consists mostly of hail and snow.Template:Sfn It either amounts to less than Template:Convert per yearTemplate:Sfn or reaches Template:Convert per year. Compared to sites farther north, precipitation falls primarily during winter,Template:Sfn although snowfall is common in summer.Template:Sfn Precipitation probably peaks at Template:Convert where the cloud base lies;Template:Sfn above that elevation it decreases to about Template:Convert.Template:Sfn Snow cover in the area is sporadicTemplate:Sfn and quickly sublimates,Template:Sfn which hinders its measurement;Template:Sfn the average snow cover is less than Template:Convert thick.Template:Sfn

Vegetation and fauna

Isolated boulders resting on a steep slope

Bouldery landscape of Ojos del Salado

Due to the dry climate, the region is a desert with little vegetation occurring above Template:Convert elevation,Template:Sfn and none above Template:Convert.Template:Sfn However, lichens and mosses have been found at higher elevationsTemplate:Sfn and green growths have been reported from the summit region.Template:Sfn Template:As of, there were no reports of plants in the waterbodies on Ojos del Salado.Template:Sfn Salt, acid and cold-tolerant bacteria have been recovered from sediments in the lakes on Ojos del Salado, consistent with microorganism samples from similar dry volcanic environments.Template:Sfn

A diverse flora and fauna has been described in the lower elevation regions south-southeast of Ojos del Salado.Template:Sfn Birds such as ducks, flamingos and geese and mammals such as guanacos and vicuñas occur in the Santa Rosa-Maricunga-Negro Francisco region.Template:Sfn Chinchillas and vicuñas live in the valleys south of Ojos del Salado, and have drawn humans to the region.Template:Sfn Mice venture to elevations of Template:Convert,Template:Sfn and earwigs have been observed at Template:Convert elevation.Template:Sfn

Human history

As Ojos del Salado is hidden behindTemplate:Sfn and nested among many peaks of similar elevation, for centuries travellers and mountaineers paid little attention to the mountain.Template:Sfn Its remoteness meant that for a long time, both its elevation and exact topography were unclear.Template:Sfn The positions and names of the mountains were frequently confused.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn

The Inca used the Paso San Francisco as a major crossing of the AndesTemplate:Sfn but there is no evidence of them building any structures on Ojos del SaladoTemplate:Efn Template:Sfn even though a number of such sites exist in the surrounding region.Template:Sfn The Spanish conquistador Diego de Almagro Template:Sfn crossed the Andes at Ojos del Salado but did not mention it.Template:Sfn Template:Efn Ojos del Salado is likewise absent from the 1861 plans of William Wheelwright for a railway across Paso San Francisco.Template:Sfn The explorer Walter Penck crossed the area in 1912/13 and 1913/14Template:Sfn but did not identify the mountain.Template:Sfn

Ascents and debate on elevation

In 1896, 1897 and 1903 the Chile-Argentina boundary commission identified a peak in the area and named it "Ojos del Salado";Template:Sfn according to a mythTemplate:Sfn their "Ojos del Salado" was a much smaller mountain and the actual Ojos del Salado was their "Peak 'e'".Template:Sfn The Polish climbers Template:Ill and Jan Szczepański from the Second Polish Andean Expedition Template:Sfn reached the summit on February 26, 1937Template:Sfn and left a cairn Template:Efn Template:Sfn but most of the maps and report they drafted were lost during World War II.Template:Sfn

After the Polish expedition, the mountain remained unclimbed until 1955, although expeditions went to its lower slopes and sometimes confused other peaks for Ojos del Salado. In that year an expedition from Tucumán Template:Sfn ascended a mountain south of Ojos del Salado, which they mistook for the volcano. They stated that the peak may be higher than Aconcagua, which media reported as if it were proven fact.Template:Sfn These measurements set off a debate whether Ojos del Salado was higher than Aconcagua and thus the highest summit of the Western Hemisphere,Template:Sfn and drew attention to the mountain. Three separate Chilean, Argentine and Austrian parties went to Ojos del Salado in 1956; the Chilean party measured an elevation of Template:Convert with a barometer, a value that was once again presented as proven by the pressTemplate:Sfn despite the unreliability of this technique.Template:Sfn The Chilean party also claimed seeing the Argentine pampa and the Pacific Ocean from the summit.Template:Sfn In 1957, the official elevation of Ojos del Salado was Template:Convert according to Argentina and Template:Convert according to Chile.Template:Sfn

The debate on the elevation and confusion about which mountain was Ojos del Salado and who climbed which peak prompted an expedition by the American Alpine Club in 1956.Template:Sfn The expedition was hindered by bad weather conditionsTemplate:Sfn and a gust of wind stretching a measurement line may have almost frustrated the goal to determine the summit elevation of Ojos del Salado.Template:Sfn The same party later used geodetic methods to establish the elevation of Ojos del Salado as Template:Convert and lower thanTemplate:Sfn the Template:Convert high Aconcagua.Template:Sfn In 1989, Francesco Santon of the University of Padua in Italy, with Argentine assistance, used GPS-based positioning to determine an elevation of Template:Convert.Template:Sfn

Mountaineering and tourism

Ojos del Salado and the surrounding mountains draw fewer mountaineers than Aconcagua, with only several hundred climbers every year. Since the 1990s commercial tours have become important facilitators for ascents,Template:Sfn and the number of climbers has increased in the 21st century. Ojos del Salado is one of the Second Seven Summits and Volcanic Seven Summits mountaineering challenges. It is easier to climb than an eight thousander owing to its lower elevation and the absence of rock faces and ice,Template:Sfn but the high elevation,Template:Efn cold, dry and windy weatherTemplate:Efn and impassable terrain are common challenges for would-be climbersTemplate:Sfn and only a third of all climbing attempts reach the summit.Template:Sfn The mountain can be ascended from both the Argentine and the Chilean side, but owing to the better logistics most ascents occur from the Chilean side.Template:Sfn The increasing mountaineering activities on Ojos del Salado have raised concerns about environmental impacts.Template:Sfn

Ascent from the Chilean side is easier as the first refuge can be reached by car, but the actual climb is easier from the Argentine side.Template:Sfn A dirt road departing from the Template:Ill highway to Paso San Francisco heads south to Ojos del Salado, past Refugio Murray to the bivouac Refugio Universidad de Atacama/Jorge Rojas at Template:Convert elevation,Template:Sfn from there a path goes to Refugio Tejos at Template:Convert elevation and eventually to the summit of Ojos del Salado through scree-covered slopes and a steep ridge/couloir at the end.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Ropes and supports are available.Template:Sfn Between 2004 and 2015, a Chilean company held a mountaineering concession for the Chilean side and maintained the infrastructure there; after the end of the concession maintenance resumed in 2018.Template:Sfn From Argentina, the path runs from Cazadero Grande (Quemadito hut) along a large creek to its origin at Aguas Calientes at Template:Convert. From there it continues first up dry valleys to Acqua di Vicuna at Template:Convert elevation, to the El Arenal plateau at Template:Convert elevation and eventually along various routes to Ojos del Salado.Template:Sfn The mountain is also accessible by vehicle, up to Template:Convert Template:Sfn or Template:Convert elevation, through a dirt road built after a helicopter accident in 1994.Template:Sfn

West of the volcano lies the Nevado Tres Cruces National Park Template:Sfn and in 1991/1994 there were plans to make a national park on the Argentine side as well.Template:Sfn Template:As of, the establishment of a "zone of touristic interest" encompassing Ojos del Salado was under discussion in Chile.Template:Sfn

Other uses

Astronomers have surveyed the volcano for the possibility of creating an observatory there.Template:Sfn Template:Efn The landforms such as the gulliesTemplate:Sfn and crater lakes and their conditions,Template:Sfn and climatic conditions around Ojos del Salado have also led researchers to investigate it as a potential analogue to environments on Mars.Template:Sfn The volcano is one of several depicted on Chilean passports.Template:Sfn

Numerous record-high altitude attempts with vehicles have been carried out at Ojos del Salado, including with cars,Template:Sfn electric vehicles,Template:Sfn motorcycles Template:Sfn and utility vehicles.Template:Sfn A modified car was driven to an elevation of Template:Convert in 2015.Template:Sfn

Notes

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References

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Sources

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Bibliography

External links

Template:Sister project

Template:Cite thesis
Complete description of Ojos del Salado in Andeshandbook
December 1, 2006, Star Trails at 19,000 Feet – NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day
Andes information
Ojos del Salado Satellite Elevation Data
Peak bagger
Summit post
Peak list
Virtual Aerial Video Template:Webarchive
Acclimatization for altitude climbs in the Andes

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Template:Mountains of Argentina Template:Andean volcanoes Template:Seven Second Summits Template:Volcanic Seven Summits Template:Highest points of South America Template:Authority control

Ojos del Salado

Contents

Name

Geography and geomorphology

Lakes

Surroundings

Ice and glaciers

Subsurface ice

Past glaciation

Geology

Local

Composition

Eruption history

Holocene and historical activity

Hazards

Fumarolic activity

Climate

Vegetation and fauna

Human history

Ascents and debate on elevation

Mountaineering and tourism

Other uses

See also

Notes

References

Sources

Bibliography

External links

Navigation menu

Ojos del Salado

Name

Geography and geomorphology

Lakes

Surroundings

Ice and glaciers

Subsurface ice

Past glaciation

Geology

Local

Composition

Eruption history

Holocene and historical activity

Hazards

Fumarolic activity

Climate

Vegetation and fauna

Human history

Ascents and debate on elevation

Mountaineering and tourism

Other uses

See also

Notes

References

Sources

Bibliography

External links

Navigation menu

Search