Tocomar

Tocomar
Tocomar
Highest point
Coordinates	24°10′S 66°34′W / 24.167°S 66.567°W / -24.167; -66.567[1]
Geology
Rock age	Pleistocene
Mountain type	Volcano

Tocomar is a Pleistocene volcano in the Jujuy Province, Argentina. It is part of the Andean Volcanic Belt, more specifically to its sub-belt the Central Volcanic Zone. The Central Volcanic Zone consists of about 44 active volcanoes and large calderas of the Altiplano-Puna volcanic complex. Volcanism there is caused by the subduction of the Nazca Plate beneath the South America Plate in the Peru-Chile Trench. At Tocomar, volcanism is further influenced by a large fault zone, the Calama-Olacapato-El Toro fault, which runs diagonally across the volcanic arc.

Tocomar has generated several pyroclastic flows during the Pleistocene as well as phreatic-phreatomagmatic activity, and a magma chamber may still exist beneath the volcano. Hot springs are found at the volcanic centre and have been prospected for the generation of geothermal power; the water discharged by the springs eventually forms the Tocomar river. Wetlands are found in the area. Other than this, Tocomar was used as a source of obsidian in antiquity and more recently as a candidate site for a gamma ray observatory and as a mine.