Kari-Kari is part of a volcanic system with neighbouring Los Frailes volcanic system, which has been active starting from 25,000,000 to recent times over six phases, covering a surface area of . Kari-Kari is the earliest known caldera in the Eastern Cordillera. No volcanic ignimbrites younger than 3,800,000 million years are found in the Eastern Cordillera, although in the Frailes region volcanic activity has continued into the Holocene with the Nuevo Mundo volcano. Alternatively, Kari-Kari has been classified as a lower Miocene volcanic province that also includes Illimani and several other volcanic centres.