What is "llullaillaco"

Llullaillaco \Llullaillaco\ prop. n. A mountain in Argentina and Chile, 22,057 feet high. proper name

Llullaillaco is a potentially active stratovolcano at the border of Argentina ( Salta Province) and Chile. It lies in the Puna de Atacama, a region of very high volcanic peaks on a high plateau within the Atacama Desert, one of the driest places in the world. It is the fourth highest volcano in the world, and it is also the seventh highest mountain of the Andes.

Llullaillaco follows the typical Puna de Atacama volcano pattern: it is surrounded by large debris fields and is perpetually capped by small snow patches, though there are no true glaciers due to the extreme aridity. The snow line in this region is the highest in the world, at around , which is around higher than in the Himalayas and higher than in the Andes of Colombia and Ecuador.

The peak's name comes from the Aymara for "murky water": llulla= dirty and yacu= water. Other sources propose it to have originated from Quechua Lullac= lie, Yacu= water: "lying (or treacherous) water".

It has been confirmed that Incas climbed Llullaillaco in the pre-Columbian period. Artifacts on the summit constitute the highest evidence of human presence worldwide before the late nineteenth century. Also, the huáqueros may have also reached its summit and those of other mountains in the region during their searches. The first recorded ascent was on December 1, 1952, by Bión González and Juan Harseim.