Tocorpuri

Key takeaways

Tocorpuri belongs to earth science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Tocorpuri to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Tocorpuri from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Tocorpuri is a volcano on the border between Chile and Bolivia. Its peak height is most recently given as 5,808 metres (19,055 ft) and it features a 1.3 kilometres (0.81 mi) wide summit crater. The volcano consists mainly of lava flows and pyroclastic deposits and is subdivided into two separate edifices. Just west of Tocorpuri, the La Torta lava dome is a 200 m (660 ft) high flat-topped structure. The volcanoes are formed by andesitic, dacitic and rhyolitic rocks. The Tocorpuri volcanoes developed in the late Pleistocene in three separate stages and were subject to glaciation and tectonic faulting. The most recent eruption generated the La Torta lava dome 34,000 ± 7,000 years ago; presently there is geothermal activity which may be connected to that of the neighbouring El Tatio geothermal field.

Geomorphology Tocorpuri lies in northern Chile, about 100 kilometres (62 mi) east of Calama. The border with Bolivia runs around the eastern side of Tocorpuri's summit crater. The area lies in Chile's Antofagasta Department and on Bolivia's Potosí Department and a pre-Hispanic road connecting the Bolivian Altiplano with the San Pedro de Atacama region passes south of the volcano. This road system is considered to be the oldest in Chile, was in use since the Formative Period. The name comes from the Kunza language, is also known as Michina, Cerro de Tocorpuri Cerros de Tocorpuri or Volcán Tocorpuri. Tocorpuri volcano is a complex of three different edifices. East Tocorpuri is 5,808 metres (19,055 ft) high and rises 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) around the surrounding terrain. A large, slightly elongated 1.3 kilometres (0.81 mi) wide summit crater caps the summit. From Tocorpuri's summit, the Salar de Atacama salt flat and the Chuquicamata mine, the largest copper mine in the world, are visible. Sulfur deposits can be found in the summit region and were mined in the past. Other craters are heavily eroded and old, eroded lava flows occur on the southern flank, with younger, smaller flows present in the summit region. West Tocorpuri consists mainly of blocky lava flows which are particularly noticeable on the western side while East Tocorpuri consists of lava flows, pyroclastic deposits and tuff-like breccia. There is evidence of a southeastward sector collapse of Tocorpuri, which crops out on an area of 9 square kilometres (3.5 sq mi) on the southeastern flank within a horseshoe-shaped scar. Tocorpuri is part of the main volcanic chain of the border region between Chile and Bolivia. The La Torta ("cake" in Spanish) lava dome is located between the Tocorpuri volcano to the east and Tatio volcano to the west. It is a flat-topped, about 200 metres (660 ft) high body with steep flanks that covers a surface of about 11 square kilometres (4.2 sq mi) in a flat area. Its flanks are covered with scree, while its top features flow folds and wrinkles. The dome reaches an elevation of 5,018 metres (16,463 ft). Two separate vents and two different geologic units are discernible. It and Tocorpuri, which are 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) distant from each other, have been described as a volcano pair, whose existence may be a consequence of tectonics.

Glacial erosion has cut into the flanks of the volcanoes, with moraines and mudflow deposits covering the foot of La Torta and cirques and glacial striations occurring on the Tocorpuri volcanoes. In the past, a glacier filled the crater of Tocorpuri. South of La Torta, moraines extending from East Tocorpuri extend south-southwestward. Between Tatio and La Torta, there are two tongues of moraines side-by-side. The moraines from the western valley have overrun the eastern valley moraines and are accompanied by thin drift deposits. These moraines have been dated by surface exposure dating: They formed during the regional Last Glacial Maximum and by about 30,700 years ago the western glaciers were gone. Erosional debris covers the flanks of Tocorpuri.

Climate and hydrology The region has a high-altitude steppe climate with a low mean temperature of 2 °C (36 °F) and a diurnal temperature range of 20 °C (36 °F). Annual precipitation on the summit has been estimated to exceed 360 millimetres (14 in), while about 159 millimetres (6.3 in) fall every year south of Tocorpuri. Most of it occurs during summer as convective precipitation. Snow has been observed on the summit, and a 1985 map displays a persistent ice/snow cover there. The Putana River south of Tocorpuri flows towards the Salar de Atacama and receives important tributaries from the Tocorpuri area, such as Quebrada La Torta, Rio Blanco o Tocorpuri and Quebrada Agua Brava.

Geology Off the western coast of South America, the Nazca Plate subducts beneath the South America Plate in the Peru-Chile Trench. This subduction process is responsible for volcanism in most of the Andean Volcanic Belt, which consists of the Northern Volcanic Zone (NVZ), the Central Volcanic Zone (CVZ), the South Volcanic Zone (SVZ) and the Austral Volcanic Zone (AVZ). Tocorpuri is part of the CVZ. The Altiplano-Puna volcanic complex (APVC) has been episodically active between 10 and 1 million years ago. Surges in activity took place 8, 6 and 4 million years ago; since 2.6 million years ago activity has declined. In the late Pleistocene, the lava domes Cerro Chanka, Cerro Chao, Cerro Chascon-Runtu Jarita complex, Chillahuita and Tocorpuri were emplaced around 100,000–90,000 years ago. The total volume of these domes exceeds 40 cubic kilometres (9.6 cu mi), of which Cerro Chao is by far the largest. These domes are part of a northwest–southeast alignment that is associated with the margin of the Pastos Grandes caldera. Volcanism today is focused on the arc and is mainly andesitic, having built numerous volcanic cones. The formation of a batholith under the APVC may be ongoing. Most of the region is covered by Tertiary ignimbrites, except for the area at the frontier between Bolivia and Chile which features Quaternary volcanics; the pre-ignimbrite basement crops out only farther west. These ignimbrites were produced by eruptions in the APVC. Geologic lineaments have influenced the development of the volcanoes, including that of Tocorpuri, and La Torta formed at the end of a thrust fault that may have served as the path of ascent of magma.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Tocorpuri

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Tocorpuri claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In earth science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Tocorpuri before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Tocorpuri ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Tocorpuri

In research: Tocorpuri appears in earth science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Tocorpuri in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Tocorpuri is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Complex volcanoes, Pleistocene stratovolcanoes, Stratovolcanoes of Chile, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Tocorpuri outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

How to study Tocorpuri in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Tocorpuri means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Tocorpuri out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Tocorpuri in simple terms?

Tocorpuri is a volcano on the border between Chile and Bolivia. Its peak height is most recently given as 5,808 metres (19,055 ft) and it features a 1.3 kilometres (0.81 mi) wide summit crater.

Why does Tocorpuri matter?

Because it connects several earth science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Tocorpuri?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Tocorpuri.