The subduction of the Nazca plate beneath the South America plate has formed a volcanic arc about long, which is subdivided into several segments distinguished by varying angles of subduction. The part of the volcanic belt named the Southern Volcanic Zone contains at least 60volcanoes with historical activity and three major caldera systems. Major volcanoes of the Southern Volcanic Zone include from north to south: Maipo, Cerro Azul, Calabozos, Tatara-San Pedro, Laguna del Maule, Antuco, Villarrica, Puyehue-Cordon Caulle, Osorno, and Chaiten. Laguna del Maule is located within a segment known as the Transitional Southern Volcanic Zone, west of the Peru-Chile Trench. Volcanoes in this segment are typically located on basement blocks that have been uplifted between extensional basins.