Blue sky view of gorse, trees and grass on valleysides overlooking the Gulf of Ancud, near Quatelmahue, Chiloe Island, Chile
Two potentially explosive stratovolcanoes, composed of ash, pumice and andesite lava layers, stand in the background of this view. The 2652 metres (8701 feet) high Osorno Volcano has a classic cone, similar in appearance to Mount Fuji. The upper slopes are covered in glaciers, due to the high levels of snowfall in the very moist maritime climate of Southern Chile's Los Lagos Region. The volcano, sitting in the 6 km wide caldera of an older volcano, is known to have erupted 11 times between 1575 and 1869. Charles Darwin, in the 2nd voyage of the Beagle, saw an eruption in January 1835. The neighbouring Calbuco Volcano has erupted 9 times since 1837, 30 cm 'bombs' of lava being thrown up to 8 km from the crater in one of the largest eruptions in Southern Chile in 1893-94. The last major eruption in 1961 produced ash columns 12-15 km high. Steam emissions were seen on 19 August 1996. Violent stratovolcanoes are common in subduction zones, where oceanic crust is drawn down under a continent. A third volcano, Tronador, is seen between the two. The cool rainy temperate climate of Chiloe Island, with rainfall throughout the year from frontal weather systems from the Pacific, gives rise to a 'green and pleasant land' reminiscent of the English countryside. The climate and soils are well suited to dairy farming.
Size: 4287px × 2848px
Location: Gulf of Ancud view, road, near Quetalmahue, Chiloe island, Chile
Photo credit: © robert harrison / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
Keywords: america, ancud, blue, calbuco, chile, chilean, chiloe, climate, clouds, de, farmland, fields, geography, golfo, grass, green, gulf, island, landscape, osorno, patagonia, quatalmahue, scene, scenery, sea, sky, soils, south, stratovolcanoes, trees, tronador, valley, vegetation, view, volcan, volcanoes, water, white
