The ages of the flows indicate an eastward shift in activity. The southeasterly and northeasterly flows may have been erupted within 500 years from the same fissure, while the eruption of the northwesterly flow might be a consequence of the retreat of the ice cap. These lava flows are the most recent manifestation of volcanic activity and they imply that Coropuna is still active; it is thus considered to be a dormant volcano, rather than an extinct one. There is no evidence of Holocene tephras in peat bog drill cores and volcanism at Coropuna since the last ice age has been primarily effusive.