Tupungatito, Active stratovolcano in Central Andes, Chile

Tupungatito is a volcanic complex on the Chile-Argentina border, 80 km east of Santiago, made up of a 5 km wide ice-filled caldera and a group of ten craters to its north. Four craters overlap, and one sits atop a 4 km wide pyroclastic cone. Three crater lakes occupy the craters, one turquoise and highly acidic.

Luis Risopatrón, chair of the Chilean boundary commission, named the volcano in 1897 and reported it as active. Its first ascent was probably made in 1907 by K. Griebel, H. Gwinner, L. Hanisch, K. Heitmann and J. Philippi. Recorded eruptions occurred in 1959, 1960, 1964, 1980 and 1986, and activity resumed in August 2021 without an imminent eruption being expected.

The name Tupungatito was given in 1897 by Luis Risopatrón, chair of the Chilean boundary commission, as a diminutive of the neighbouring Tupungato volcano. Argentina proposed the name Volcán Bravard after French paleontologist Auguste Bravard, but it fell out of use. The first ascent was probably made in 1907 by K. Griebel, H. Gwinner, L. Hanisch, K. Heitmann and J. Philippi.

Climbing this volcano requires specialized mountaineering gear and significant high-altitude experience due to harsh conditions. Weather changes rapidly and unpredictably at these elevations, so careful acclimatization and planning are essential.

The glacier-covered summit serves as a natural water storage system whose meltwater feeds major rivers supplying millions of people downstream. This relationship between volcanic geology and water resources makes the mountain crucial to regional water security.