Purico is part of the Central Volcanic Zone (CVZ), a belt of volcanoes that runs along the western margin of South America between 14° and 28° southern latitude. This belt is one of four separate volcanic belts that make up the Andean Volcanic Belt and which are separated from each other by gaps where no recent volcanism occurs. The CVZ segment includes 44 active systems, 18 minor volcanic centres and over 6 large ignimbrite or caldera systems. One of these volcanoes, Ojos del Salado, is the highest volcano in the world. The largest historical eruption in the CVZ occurred in 1600 at Huaynaputina in Peru.