The volcano was constructed in two phases and postglacial lava flows have been found by Landsat imagery, but they are unsampled. A previously identified southeastern lava flow has been later identified as a debris avalanche. A dacitic lava dome is found southwest of the volcano and is named Calajata. In a 2011 hazard map Arintica was considered a potentially dangerous volcano of Chile. Whether the volcano was active in the Holocene is contentious. A belt of Polylepis woods surrounds the volcano.: