Tata Sabaya

Geography & Climate

Tata Sabaya is located in Bolivia, within the Central Andean Volcanic Arc of the broader South America Volcanic Regions. Situated at 19.13° S, 68.53° W in the Southern Hemisphere, the volcano lies within a tropical climate zone. At 5,430 meters above sea level, Tata Sabaya reaches well into the permanent snow and ice zone. Glaciers and snowpack on the upper slopes create the potential for lahars — destructive volcanic mudflows — during eruptions, as heat rapidly melts ice and snow. The volcanic landform is characterized as a composite, which describes the physical shape and structure of the volcanic edifice as observed from the surface.

Geological Context

Tata Sabaya sits in a subduction zone, where one tectonic plate dives beneath another, creating intense heat and pressure that generates magma. Subduction zones are responsible for many of the world's most explosive volcanoes and deadliest eruptions. For communities in Bolivia near Tata Sabaya, this tectonic setting means the volcano is capable of producing powerful explosive eruptions, pyroclastic flows, and lahars that can threaten populated areas within tens of kilometers of the summit. The dominant rock type is andesite / basaltic andesite, a dark, fine-grained volcanic rock that forms from rapidly cooling, low-viscosity lava. Basaltic eruptions tend to be less explosive and produce fluid lava flows that can travel long distances. While less immediately dangerous than explosive eruptions, basaltic lava flows can destroy structures and infrastructure in their path, and volcanic gases released during these eruptions can affect air quality over a wide area.

GVP Reference Summary

The symmetrical Tata Sabaya towers above the northern end of the Salar de Coipasa in the Altiplano of Bolivia. A pyroclastic shield capped by lava domes was topped by effusive eruptions that formed the unglaciated andesitic stratovolcano. Collapse of this edifice produced a large late-Pleistocene debris avalanche that swept into the Salar de Coipasa and covered an area of more than 300 km2 S of the volcano, traveling up to 30 km. Tufa deposits on avalanche hummocks correspond to a ~12,000 year old high stand of the lake. Renewed eruptions during the Holocene constructed lava domes and flows that have restored much of the original edifice. Youthful lava flows extend down the NW and W flanks, and pyroclastic-flow deposits from partial collapse of the summit dome extend to the lower SW flank.

— Smithsonian Institution, Global Volcanism Program