Suni K'ira

Suni K'ira
Suni K'ira Location in Bolivia
Highest point
Elevation	5,899 m (19,354 ft)[1]
Coordinates	22°00′34″S 67°13′08″W
Geography
Location	Bolivia Potosí Department
Parent range	Andes
Geology
Rock age	Pleistocene
Mountain type	Shield volcano

Suni K'ira (Quechua suni 'long', k'ira 'prop, support';[2] hispanicized spellings Sonequera, Soniquera, Suniquera, Suniquira) is a 5,899-metre-high (19,354 ft) shield volcano[3][4] in Bolivia. It is located in the Potosí Department, Nor Lípez Province, Colcha "K" Municipality, and in the Sud Lípez Province, San Pablo de Lípez Municipality. It lies north of the Uturunku volcano.[5]

The volcano rises 1,600–1,700 metres (5,200–5,600 ft) above the surrounding terrain.[6] Suni K'ira is the source of an ignimbrite,[3] and it features a caldera at the intersection of several faults.[6] The volcano features cirques which were formerly considered to be craters, leading to the belief that eruptions occurred during the Holocene.

Rock samples taken from Suni K'ira consist of andesite and dacite. The former contains latite and quartz and the latter biotite and hornblende.[3]

Polylepis tarapacana trees grow on its slopes.[7]

References

1. Bolivian IGM map 1:250,000 Cerro Zapaleri SF 19-12
2. "Diccionario: Quechua - Español - Quechua, Simi Taqe: Qheswa - Español - Qheswa" (PDF). Diccionario Quechua - Español - Quechua. Gobierno Regional del Cusco, Perú: Academía Mayor de la Lengua Quechua. 2005. (5-vowel system)
3. Fernández, A.C.; Hörmann, P.K.; Kussmaul, S.; Meave, J.; Pichler, H.; Subieta, T. (1 September 1973). "First petrologic data on young volcanic rocks of SW-Bolivia". Tschermaks Mineralogische und Petrographische Mitteilungen. 19 (3): 160–162. doi:10.1007/BF01167425. ISSN 0369-1497.
4. "Sunequera". Global Volcanism Program. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2022-06-28.
5. "San Pablo de Lípez". Retrieved January 22, 2016. (unnamed)
6. Kussmaul, S.; Hörmann, P.K.; Ploskonka, E.; Subieta, T. (1 April 1977). "Volcanism and structure of southwestern Bolivia". Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research. 2 (1): 87–88. doi:10.1016/0377-0273(77)90016-6.
7. Argollo, Jaime; Soliz, Claudia; Villalba, Ricardo (2004). "Potencialidad dendrocronológica de Polylepis tarapacana en los Andes Centrales de Bolivia". Ecología en Bolivia (in Spanish). 39 (1): 5–24. ISSN 1605-2528.