| Nevado San Francisco | |
| Location: | Argentina-Chile |
| Elevation M: | 6016 |
| Parent Peak: | Ojos del Salado |
| Range: | Andes |
| Coordinates: | -26.9188°N -68.2627°W |
| Prominence: | 1124m (3,688feet)[1] |
| Type: | Stratovolcano |
| Age: | 1.34 - 1.32 million years ago |
| Last Eruption: | Unknown |
| First Ascent: | 16 December 1913 - Walther Penck (Germany)[2] |
Nevado San Francisco, or Cerro San Francisco (pronounced as /es/), is a stratovolcano on the border between Argentina and Chile,[3] located just southeast of San Francisco Pass. It is considered extinct and is one of the several 6000-2NaN-2 peaks in the area, of which the chief is the Ojos del Salado. It is on the border of 2 provinces: Argentinean province of Catamarca; Chilean province of Copiapo.[4] [5]
The volcano is part of the Central Volcanic Zone of the Andes[6] and reaches an elevation of .[7] It is composed from andesite with the exception of basaltic cones and lava flows on the eastern side. These cones are part of the Peinado lineament and a sample was dated 200,000 years ago by argon chronology.[8] They are noteworthy for their olivine phenocrysts. One lava flow less than one million years old reaches a length of .[9] The western slopes contain dacitic lava domes.[10] On the summit lie two circle-shaped constructs, of Inca or Formative period ages. San Francisco was first climbed by Walther Penck (Germany) on 16 December 1913.[11]