Volcan Osorno
This blog will address three big geographical questions: How the formation of the Andes happened, and why are there so many Volcanos in the Andes? As well as why/how volcanoes erupt? I’ll add some of our adventures on Volcán Osorno.
The South American continent has been drifting west for the last 60 million years or more. This movement of the South American continent leads to the subduction (going under) of oceanic plates. The Nazca plate, which lies off the coast of Chile, is moving east under the South American plate, which is responsible for the formation of the Andes and the high level of Volcanic activity within it. This subduction is occurring along the Peru-Chile Trench off the coast of the two countries. An interesting fact about the Andes is that it is still growing because of the ongoing tectonic activity.
Getting back to volcanoes, when a denser plate sinks beneath another, it draws water down with it into the Earth’s mantle. Because of the friction and pressure, water combines with the hot rock, causing it to liquify. This molten rock (known as magma) rises under pressure, upward through the Earth’s crust, where it bursts through the surface (or erupts), then cools in big piles on top in the shape of a volcano.
Recently, we have had the opportunity to visit Volcan Osorno located in the Los Lagos Region of southern Chile on the shores of Lake Llanquihue near Puerto Varas. We drove to the volcano in our newly acquired hire car. It took us about an hour from Puerto Varas. We stopped at a look-out to have lunch on the way up, then continued to the end of the road – as high as the road went! The road only goes so far and there are massive glaciers at the summit. We walked from the parking area to Crater Rojo (Red Crater). This was quite impressive even though we were not even close to the top. While we where walking around we heard the sound of the glacier cracking and parts breaking off. We weren’t able to see these as the upper half of the volcano was covered in cloud, but we could definitely hear it. Because we could hear it but not see it, this made the effect seem all the more eerie and exciting! We only got small and occasional glimpses of the summit. This made it even more mysterious and more exciting when we got those small peeks of the top.
On a side note: one thing I was not expecting is how many little volcanic rocks I got in my shoes. It was definitely worth it though.
Another thing I learned while there is a story from the indigenous people of this land, the Williche people, about the volcano and the creation of the lake at its base. The Story of the Legend of the Princess Likanrayen. I will put in a screen shot of the story that I found on the local council’s website (Municipalidad de Puerto Varas). Feel free to read it. (It is a PDF)
Stay tuned for my next blog on Chiloe Island.
