Highest Mountains in Argentina

Geologic history

The mountain was created by the subduction of the Nazca Plate beneath the South American Plate. Aconcagua used to be an active stratovolcano (from the Late Cretaceous or Early Paleocene through the Miocene) and consisted of several volcanic complexes on the edge of a basin with a shallow sea. However, sometime in the Miocene, about 8 to 10 million years ago, the subduction angle started to decrease, resulting in a stop of the melting and more horizontal stresses between the oceanic plate and the continent, causing the thrust faults that lifted Aconcagua off its volcanic root. Volcanic activity ceased a long time ago. The rocks on Aconcagua's flanks are all volcanic and consist of lavas, breccias and pyroclastics.

Geography and geomorphology

Ojos del Salado is part of the High Andes and rises from the southern end of the Puna de Atacama, a high plateau next to the Atacama Desert with an average elevation of 4,000 metres (13,000 ft). The Argentina–Chile border runs across the summit of the mountain in an east-west direction. The Argentine part is within Catamarca Province and the Chilean in Copiapo Province of the Atacama Region. The highway Chile Route 31 runs between the city of Copiapo west of the volcano and the Paso San Francisco to Argentina, lying about 20 kilometres (12 mi) north of the volcano, making it more accessible than many other volcanoes there. The region is uninhabited and lacks water resources; many parts are only accessible through dirt roads.

Geology

In South America, there are about 200 volcanoes with evidence of eruptions during the Pleistocene and Holocene along the western coast, where the Nazca Plate and Antarctic Plate subduct 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 activity and form part of the Pacific Ring of Fire. 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.

Eruption history

Volcanic activity probably commenced 3.3–1.5 million years ago or during the late Pleistocene. The 3.7±0.2-million-year-old Las Lozas Andesite may have been a precursor of Ojos del Salado. The oldest rocks of Ojos del Salado are 3.5–3.4-million-year-old dacites in the lower parts of the volcano. 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.

The volcano developed in two stages, with the more recent one grown on top of the older. 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.

Climate

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

Temperatures at lower elevations can exceed 10 °C (50 °F) but mean annual temperatures only reach −10 °C (14 °F). Mean winds at Laguna Verde reach maximum speeds of 8–10 metres per second (26–33 ft/s) in winter; on the mountaintops they can exceed 10 metres per second (33 ft/s) and can impede climbing attempts. Winds blow strongest in the afternoon.

Geography and geology

Cerro Tronador is in the Wet Andes, a zone of high precipitation of both snow and rain. The humid temperate climate of the southern Andes has allowed several glaciers to develop due to high accumulation rates. Most of the precipitation is produced by western frontal systems from the Pacific. Located in the middle of the Andean massif at a latitude of 41° S, Tronador is part of an alpine landscape of fjords, glacial lakes, and U-shaped valleys. The forming of the landscape took place during the Quaternary glaciations, periods during which the whole area was covered by the Patagonian Ice Sheet.

Mountaineering and tourism

Tronador was first climbed by Hermann Claussen solo on 29 January 1934, after several attempts. A mountain hut, Refugio Otto Meiling, is the destination of popular day hikes on the mountain, and is named after a German mountaineer who made dozens of ascents and spent years guiding people around it. The hut is located about 1200m vertically above Pampa Linda, at the mountain's base.

Most summers the Internacional or Anon peaks (the highest of Tronador's three peaks) is climbable. However, an unusually hot summer increased rockfall to dangerous levels during January and February 2008. The Argentine side risks becoming no longer accessible due to increasingly warm weather in the region destabilising the glaciers.

Geography

Argentina and Chile have agreed that their international border detours eastwards to pass over the main summit, but a large part of the border to the south of the summit, as far as Cerro Murallón, remains undefined. The mountain is the symbol of the Argentine Santa Cruz Province, which includes its representation on its flag and its coat of arms.

On February 27, 2014, Chile's National Forestry Corporation created the Chaltén Mountain Range Natural Site by Resolution No. 74, which covers the Chilean side of Mount Fitz Roy and the surrounding mountain range.

History

After the signing of the 1881 Treaty between Argentina and Chile, the boundary in the area was defined in 1898 by the boundary surveyors, Francisco Pascasio Moreno from Argentina and Diego Barros Arana from Chile. Huemul was declared a border landmark. The surveyors had no differences in the area between Mount Fitz Roy and Cerro Stokes, unlike other territories that were subject to arbitration in the 1902 arbitral award. The boundary was defined by the following mountain landmarks and their natural continuity: Mount Fitz Roy, Torre, Huemul, Campana, Agassiz, Heim, Mayo, and Stokes (nowadays Cervantes). Chile has defended it as a border landmark.

Tourism

Fitz Roy is a popular tourist destination for hikers, as a viewpoint between the Laguna de Los Tres and the Laguna Sucia can be reached by foot from the town of El Chaltén. The total trek is around 20 kilometers for the round trip, making it possible to do the out-and-back hike within a single day, while also passing by the Poincenot campground that is run by a local association, for people who want to take more time.

Geography

The mountain is 650 km southwest of the city of Buenos Aires; the closest settlement is Villa Ventana in the Tornquist Partido.

It is located on private property owned by the Fundación Funke (Funke Foundation), a charitable organization that maintains the land donated by German immigrant Rodolfo Funke after his death in 1938.

The mountain has a dry climate. Summers are warm, with temperatures above 30 °C during the day. Winters have an average high of 8 °C and are somewhat rainier, with nights frequently below freezing. Snowfalls can occur sometimes.