The volcanic cluster of which Aucanquilcha is a part contains about 19-20 volcanoes and has generated about of andesite and dacite over eleven million years. Covering a surface area of , the cluster is surrounded on its northern, western and eastern sides by salt flats and alluvial deposits. On its southern side lies the Cerro Chela volcano. The cluster lies on a thick crust, and arid conditions since the Miocene have preserved its structures. Its volcanoes are arranged in north-south and northwestern alignments, which may indicate a rupture of the crust above shallow magma reservoirs.