The eastward subduction of the Nazca Plate beneath the South America Plate has generated three volcanic belts within the Andes, including the Central Volcanic Zone which spans parts of Peru, Chile, Bolivia and Argentina and includes Uturuncu. Aside from Uturuncu, it includes about 69 Holocene volcanoes in a high elevation region, including the potentially active volcanoes Irruputuncu, Olca-Paruma, Aucanquilcha, Ollagüe, Azufre, San Pedro, Putana, Sairecabur, Licancabur, Guayaques, Colachi and Acamarachi.