Volcano in Chile
Chaiten volcano: eruption status today
Updated
No eruption of Chaiten is being reported right now Last eruption: 1964 or later; last significant eruption 2008 (NOAA NCEI).
Live status of Chaiten: whether it is erupting now, satellite hot spots, earthquakes around it, and what an eruption would mean for nearby cities and flights.
- Status now
- No open report
- Last eruption
- 1964 or later last significant: 2008
- Elevation
- 1,122 m 3,681 ft
- Type
- Caldera
- Earthquakes within 50 km
- 1 past 30 days (USGS)
- Hot spots within 10 km
- 0 latest NASA FIRMS VIIRS data
- Nearest city
- Puerto Montt 154 km N
Is Chaiten erupting right now?
There is no open NASA EONET event for Chaiten right now. NOAA NCEI dates its most recent eruption to 1964 or later, and the last eruption in its significant-eruption database was in 2008. Volcano observatories can raise alert levels before an eruption starts, so check the national observatory for the current alert level.
No satellite thermal hot spot was detected within 10 km of the summit in the latest NASA FIRMS data, so there is no sign of lava at the surface large enough for VIIRS to see (clouds can hide it).
Earthquakes near Chaiten
USGS located 1 earthquake within 50 km of Chaiten in the past 30 days, 0 of them in the last week. The largest was M4.3 on Sep 27, 2026, 26 km S of the summit at 10 km depth.
0 of them were shallower than 10 km. Swarms of shallow quakes can mean magma or gas is moving, but most swarms end without an eruption; observatories combine them with ground deformation and gas data.
| Time (UTC) | Magnitude | Distance | Depth | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 27, 18:55 UTC | M4.3 | 26 km S | 10 km | 17 km SSE of Chaitén, Chile |
About Chaiten
Chaiten is a caldera in Chile-S, Chile, rising to 1,122 m (3,681 ft). NOAA NCEI classes its eruptive history as "Holocene".
A caldera is a large collapse depression left after a major eruption; activity can range from small steam blasts to rare, very large eruptions.
The nearest large town is Puerto Montt, about 154 km N of the summit.
- Puerto Montt (154 km)
Flights and volcanic ash
No major hub airport is within 400 km (the closest is Santiago, 1062 km away), but ash clouds from explosive eruptions can drift for thousands of kilometres along flight routes.
Volcanic Ash Advisory Centres (VAACs) issue the official ash advisories that airlines and air traffic control follow.
Other volcanoes in Chile
Chile has 26 volcanoes on this site that erupted since 1900 or are active now, 1 of them with an open NASA activity report today. The closest other one is Huequi, 51 km away.
Nearby volcanoes
Volcanoes in Chile
More
Data: NOAA NCEI Volcano Locations, NASA EONET (open volcano events), USGS earthquakes, NASA FIRMS (VIIRS hot spots), Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program.