Lautaro Volcano is an active ice-covered stratovolcano

Stratovolcano

A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a tall, conical volcano built up by many layers of hardened lava, tephra, pumice, and volcanic ash. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile and periodic, explosive eruptions...

 located in Chile

Chile

Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

an Patagonia

Patagonia

Patagonia is a region located in Argentina and Chile, integrating the southernmost section of the Andes mountains to the southwest towards the Pacific ocean and from the east of the cordillera to the valleys it follows south through Colorado River towards Carmen de Patagones in the Atlantic Ocean...

, in the northern part of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field

Southern Patagonian Ice Field

The Southern Patagonian Ice Field , located at the Southern Patagonic Andes between Argentina and Chile, is the second largest contiguous extrapolar extent of ice in the world...

. Its summit rises more than 1000 m (3,280.8 ft) above the average surface of the ice cap

Ice cap

An ice cap is an ice mass that covers less than 50 000 km² of land area . Masses of ice covering more than 50 000 km² are termed an ice sheet....

 plateau

Plateau

In geology and earth science, a plateau , also called a high plain or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting of relatively flat terrain. A highly eroded plateau is called a dissected plateau...

. It is the tallest mountain in Bernardo O'Higgins National Park

Bernardo O'Higgins National Park

Bernardo O'Higgins National Park is the largest of the protected areas in Chile, covering an area of in both the Aisén and Magallanes and Antártica Chilena regions. The park is named after General Bernardo O'Higgins, first head of state of the Republic of Chile...

 and in its vicinity lies Pío XI Glacier. In 1952 the volcano was given its name in honor of Lautaro, who was a Mapuche

Mapuche

The Mapuche are a group of indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina. They constitute a wide-ranging ethnicity composed of various groups who shared a common social, religious and economic structure, as well as a common linguistic heritage. Their influence extended...

military leader.

The first ascent of Lautaro was made by Peter Skvarca and Luciano Pera, on January 29, 1964. They climbed the southeast ridge, encountering many crevasses, some steep ice walls, cornices, and a snow mushroom at the summit. They found an active crater and strong sulfurous emissions near the summit. The second ascent was made by Eric Jones, Mick Coffey, and Leo Dickinson on March 2, 1973, as part of a crossing of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field.