It is located east of the Chile Trench within the Puna where the volcanic arc intersects a probably deep-seated structural area named the Archibarca corridor. Since the Eocene, underlying convergence and subduction of the Nazca plate at a speed of result in the volcanic activity of the Central Volcanic Zone (CVZ), the activity of fault zones and active deformation south of 23° S. Several large calderas lie in the CVZ, some of which (Galan, La Pacana) have erupted volumes of over . The area is uninhabited and remote.