Miñiques

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Volcanic complex in Chile

title: "Miñiques" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["volcanoes-of-antofagasta-region", "mountains-of-antofagasta-region", "stratovolcanoes-of-chile", "pliocene-stratovolcanoes", "pleistocene-stratovolcanoes", "five-thousanders-of-the-andes"] description: "Volcanic complex in Chile" topic_path: "general/volcanoes-of-antofagasta-region" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miñiques" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Volcanic complex in Chile ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox mountain"]

Field	Value
name	Cerro Miñiques
photo	Miñiques.jpg
photo_caption	The Miñiques volcano, seen from the Northwest.
elevation_m	5910
location	Chile
range	Andes
coordinates
type	Stratovolcano
last_eruption	Unknown
::

Miñiques is a massive volcanic complex containing a large number of craters, lava domes and flows, located in the Antofagasta Region of Chile. Located 21 km south of Volcán Chiliques and 26 km west of Cordón Puntas Negras, it is part of a frequently visited attraction conformed by the high plain lagoons Laguna Miscanti, Laguna Miñiques and the Cerro Miscanti volcano.

Mountain

Miñiques consists of four overlapping volcanoes formed by lava domes and stratovolcanoes. It has two summits, a lower northern summit which reaches 5790 m elevation and a higher southern one which is 5910 m high. The mountain features two crater lakes, one at 5450 m and the other at 5500 m elevation on the southeastern and western side of the northern summit, respectively. A set of well developed moraines exists on the southern flank and may reflect glaciers advancing either from the summit area or a plateau at 4900 m elevation; overall however glaciation on Miñiques was of limited extent and the terrain of Miñiques today is dominated by periglacial processes. Laguna Miñiques lies on its northwestern foot; it was separated from Laguna Miscanti by a lava flow from Miñiques.

The mountain rises from a 4100 m high ignimbrite plateau. It is of Pleistocene age and formed by andesitic and dacitic rocks; it formed during two stages in the Pliocene and Plio-Pleistocene. There is no indication of historical eruptions and the volcano is classified as extinct and its lava flows have been offset by faulting, but activity of the Pliocene-Pleistocene volcano may have continued into the Holocene. Renewed eruptions may impact as well as the surroundings of Laguna Miñiques and would mostly consist of lava flows, but are unlikely to impact populated areas.

There are a number of craters, some of which contain lava domes and lava flows. Stone structures and archeological sites are found on the summit and the flanks of Miñiques mountain, and the church of Socaire is oriented towards the mountain. The Inca associated the mountain with the god Tunupa and with lightning.

References

Sources

Further sources

References

(2012). "Peligros volcánicos de la Zona Norte de Chile". [[SERVICIO NACIONAL DE GEOLOGÍA Y MINERÍA]].
(1 February 2018). "Contemporary recent extension and compression in the central Andes". Journal of Structural Geology.
(2021). "Andean Foodways". Springer International Publishing.
(1 January 2015). "Handbook of Archaeoastronomy and Ethnoastronomy". Springer New York.
{{Cite GVP
(2011). "Sub-tropical astronomy in the southern Andes: the ceque system in Socaire, Atacama, northern Chile†". Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union.
(1 September 2001). "Kommentar zu den Anmerkungen von Bettina Jenny, Klaus Kammer und Bruno Messerli (Erdkunde 55, 2001)". Erdkunde.

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