The volcano appears to be part of a north-south trending group of rhyolitic, silicic Quaternary volcanoes (including Puelche Volcanic Field, Laguna del Maule, and Volcán Domuyo) that veers off the north-northeast direction of the rest of the Andes. The directional formation of this belt corresponds to the fold-and-thrust movement of the nearby Malargüe fault, which formed in the Tertiary and remained active until the early Pliocene or late Miocene. This may suggest that Calabozos' activity is more dependent on local processes than subduction of the Nazca Plate.