[Geysers] Puchuldiza

[Alan Glennon]

Jeff,

Perhaps the best description of the geyser activity at Puchuldiza is
Mahon and Cusicanqui (1980). The article includes a small map and
description of individual spring behavior. Gold exploration damaged
some parts of the main field somewhere between 2002-2006, and that
seemed to reduce guided tourist trips to the site. The combined
Puchuldiza and Tuja fields had at least five geysers. For now, it
probably still does. The geysers appear to be the low (one meter or
less) splashy variety, though a thin-streamed spouting well has been
an attraction. A web search shows photos of it in action through at
least 2009 -- I am not sure about its current status.

El Tatio, of course,was subjected to a September 2009 geothermal
drilling explosion -- south of the main terrace, between group M-III
and geyser T106 from Rhonda's and my 2003 article. This caused a
political uproar, and geothermal exploitation activities have halted
at the site for now. In the short term at least, geyser activity is
protected. Overhead imagery shows lots of scars from road making and
ground leveling, but this is not in the main field. Since our article,
there has been a lot of tourist accessibility development at the basin
-- trails, designated parking, and such. There's also plenty of
tourist videos on Youtube -- occasionally, I'll see a new geyser in
them. For instance, I have now seen a video of T64 in eruption; in our
Transaction report, it was a dormant vent.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNfAfNSp_vA

Overhead El Tatio:
https://maps.google.com/?ll=-22.350076,-68.005886&spn=0.069778,0.132093&t=h&z=14
Overhead Puchuldiza:
https://maps.google.com/?ll=-19.41119,-68.96086&spn=0.017789,0.033023&t=h&z=16

I would love to hear if anyone has any more recent information!

Best,
Alan Glennon

References
Bryan, T.S. 2008. The Geysers of Yellowstone. Fourth edition.
University Press of Colorado: Boulder, Colorado, 462 pp
Glennon, J.A. and Pfaff, R.M. 2003. The extraordinary thermal activity
of El Tatio Geyser Field, Antofagasta Region, Chile. GOSA
Transactions, v.8, pp. 31-78.
http://alanglennon.com/eltatioGlennonPfaff.pdf
Mahon, W.A.J. and H. Cusicanqui (1980) Geochemistry of the Puchuldiza
and Tuja Hot Springs, Chile. New Zealand Journal of Science, vol 23,
p. 149-159



On Sun, Jan 27, 2013 at 1:51 PM, JEFFREY CROSS <jeff.cross at utah.edu> wrote:
> Here's a website with some nice photographs of the Puchuldiza geothermal
> area:
>
> http://www.energiandina.cl/category/proyectos/puchuldiza/
>
> Two things about it:
>
> 1) The name (Energia Andina) at the heading of the website looks like what I
> would expect from a geothermal power company.
>
> 2) A couple of the photographs show vents, pools, and sinter that looks very
> indicative of geyser activity.
>
> Jeff Cross
> jeff.cross at utah.edu
>
> PS: What's the exploitation situation at El Tatio?