Nevado Ojos del Salado, Chile

Nevado Ojos del Salado
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ojos_del_Salado_looming_big_on_the_horizon.jpg
Author: sergejf


Nevado Ojos del Salado is the tallest mountain in Chile. It is a massive stratovolcano which stands at a height of 6,891 meters (22,608 ft), on the border with Argentina. It is also the second highest mountain the the Western Hemisphere and Southern Hemisphere after Aconcague, which in in Argentina, 600 km (371 mi) to the south.

Nevado Ojos del Salado is in northern Chile, in the region of the Atacama Desert. This places it in a particular region. Nevertheless it has a crater lake which at 6,390 m (20,960 ft) above sea level, must certainly be one of the highest lakes of any kind in the world.

The name Nevado Ojos del Salado translates roughly as "snowy eyes of salt". The name came about from the salt deposits in the lagoon, appearing like salt glaciers. The last time Nevado Ojos del Salado erupted was 1,300 years ago, so to call it an active volcano may not be exactly accurate. In 1993 it did emit some ash and the presence of fumaroles suggest that it should be regarded as active.

The earliest ascent of Nevado Ojos del Salado was done by Jan Alfred Szczepański and Justyn Wojsznis in 1937. The volcano has since been climbed by many recent expeditions, and lately, it has been the trend to break high attitude world records by ascending the volcano on motorized vehicles. How this will impact on the environment has not been ascertained.

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