Wikipedia:Today's featured article/January 21, 2023
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The Cerro Blanco is a caldera in the Andes, located in Argentina's Catamarca Province. Part of the Andes' Central Volcanic Zone, it is a volcano collapse structure located at an altitude of 4,670 metres (15,320 ft) in a depression. It has been active for the last eight million years and its eruptions have created several ignimbrites. An eruption 73,000 years ago formed the Campo de la Piedra Pómez ignimbrite layer, while another eruption in 2,300 ± 160 BCE became the largest volcanic eruption of the Central Andes, and reached the highest level in the Volcanic Explosivity Index, ejecting an estimated 170 cubic kilometres (41 cu mi) of tephra. This eruption led to the formation of the most recent caldera, as well as thick ignimbrite layers. However, the Cerro Blanco has been dormant since then, although some deformation and geothermal activity have been recorded. The volcano is also known for giant ripple marks that have formed on its ignimbrite fields. (Full article...)