The total volume of tephra erupted by Huaynaputina was about , in the form of dacitic tephra, pyroclastic flows and pyroclastic surges, although smaller estimates have been proposed as well. It appears that the bulk of the fallout originated during the first stage of the eruption, with the second and third stage contributing a relatively small portion. For comparison, another large Holocene eruption in the Central Andes which exceeded Huaynaputina's in size, the eruption of Cerro Blanco in Argentina about 2,300 ± 60 BCE, erupted a bulk volume of of rock, equivalent to a volcanic explosivity index of 7. Various estimates have been made for the dense rock equivalent of the Huaynaputina eruption, ranging between .