Cerro Ratones is a partly eroded[1] andesitic stratovolcano in Argentina,[2] in the eastern edge of the Puna. The Diablillos-Galán fault zone intersects a volcanic lineament named Archibarca-Ratones beneath the volcano.[3]

The age of the volcano is equivocal; Oligocene ages of 30±3 mya are found but one biotite was dated by Argon-argon dating to be about 7 mya old.[3] Both dates come from lava flows; the older date would make this volcano one of the oldest in the area.[1] Toconquis group ignimbrites crop out next to the Ratones edifice.[4]

The Ojo de Ratones system is located northeast of Cerro Ratones and the Galan giant caldera 70 kilometres (43 mi) in the south.[4]

References

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  1. ^ a b Kay, Suzanne Mahlburg; Coira, Beatriz; Mpodozis, Constantino (2008). "Field trip guide: Neogene evolution of the central Andean Puna plateau and southern Central Volcanic Zone" (PDF). In Suzanne Mahlburg Kay; Víctor A. Ramos (eds.). GSA Field Guide 13: Field Trip Guides to the Backbone of the Americas in the Southern and Central Andes: Ridge Collision, Shallow Subduction, and Plateau Uplift. Geological Society of America. pp. 117–181. doi:10.1130/2008.0013(05). ISBN 978-0-8137-0013-7.
  2. ^ Godfrey, L.V.; Chan, L.-H.; Alonso, R.N.; Lowenstein, T.K.; McDonough, W.F.; Houston, J.; Li, J.; Bobst, A.; Jordan, T.E. (November 2013). "The role of climate in the accumulation of lithium-rich brine in the Central Andes". Applied Geochemistry. 38: 92–102. doi:10.1016/j.apgeochem.2013.09.002. hdl:11336/3169.
  3. ^ a b Coira, B.; Kay, S. Mahlburg; Viramonte, J. (August 1993). "Upper Cenozoic Magmatic Evolution of the Argentine Puna—A Model for Changing Subduction Geometry". International Geology Review. 35 (8): 677–720. doi:10.1080/00206819309465552.
  4. ^ a b Folkes, Chris B.; Wright, Heather M.; Cas, Raymond A. F.; de Silva, Shanaka L.; Lesti, Chiara; Viramonte, Jose G. (6 May 2011). "A re-appraisal of the stratigraphy and volcanology of the Cerro Galán volcanic system, NW Argentina". Bulletin of Volcanology. 73 (10): 1427–1454. doi:10.1007/s00445-011-0459-y. hdl:11336/14538.