A dark lava flow descends the Chaillupén river on the SW flank of Villarrica volcano towards Lake Calafquén during an eruption in 1971. The lava flow overrides light-colored mudflow deposits produced earlier during the eruption, which began on October 29. On November 29 lava effusion and pyroclastic cone formation began. Three basaltic lava flows were emitted on the SW flank during December 3-20. The eruption culminated on December 29, when lava flows melted ice, producing lahars that swept the volcano's flanks and caused 15 fatalites. The eruption lasted until January 10.

Photo by Hugo Moreno, 1971 (University of Chile).

This image is made available under the Creative Commons BY-NC 4.0 license terms.

Villarrica