Calbuco 1
April 23, 2015Smoke and lava spew from the Calbuco volcano, as seen from the shores of Lake Llanquihue in Puerto Varas, April 23, 2015. The Calbuco volcano in southern Chile erupted for the first time in more than five decades on Wednesday, sending a thick plume of ash and smoke several kilometres into the sky. REUTERS/Carlos Gutierrez

Chile’s Cabulco volcano erupted Wednesday evening, spewing ash into the sky and burned orange through the night. A second pulse of eruption ended Tuesday morning, according to the Chilean national geological service, Sernageomin. About 5,000 people were evacuated ahead from the area around Cabulco, which is located in a lightly populated province of Llanquihue, about 1000 km (650 miles) south of Santiago, Chile, the AFP reports. No one has been injured yet as a result of the volcano, but lava flows present unpredictable dangers.

For example, heat from the volcano is causing intense snowmelt, according to Sernageomin. There’s also the risk of a pyroclastic flow, rivers of lava bursting out of the hot. Depending on local weather conditions, pyroclastic flows can sweep hillsides with not only lava and gas from the volcano’s interior, but debris pickup along the way.

“The main risk is that it collapses, falls due to gravity because of its own weight and causes a pyroclastic flow,” vulcanologist Gabriel Orozco told local television, according to Reuters.

“Mi territorio de besos y volcanes,” my territory of kisses and volcanos, writes Chilean poet Pablo Neruda of his country. With over 2,000 volcanoes, they’re a big part of the culture. Chile sits in the Nazca plate, on the tectonic “ring of fire” that encircles the Pacific. Below you’ll find facts about the Cabulco volcano and other volcanoes in Chile, as well as the most recent photos from the Calbulco eruption.

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Locator map of the Cabulco volcano in Chile Reuters

Calbulco Volcano Facts

Volcano type: Stratovolcano

Volcano size: 6,500

Known eruption dates: 2015, 1972, 1961, 1929, 1917, 1911-12, 1909, 1907, 1906, 1895, 1893-94

Fatalities in 2015 eruption: 0

Plume height: 11 km (6.8 miles)

Eruption type: volcanic

Magma composition: andesitic and basaltic

Chile Volcano Facts

Highest: 6891 m (22,608 ft.)

Number of volcanos: 2,000

Number active: 500

Most active: Villarrica, Llaima, Lascar, Guallatiri, Osorno

Longest gap between eruptions: 9,000 years (Chaiten, which erupted again in 2009)

Types (shape) of volcanoes in Chile: caldera, cinder core, crater lake, lava dome, maar (very rare), pyroclastic cones, stratovolcano (most common), shield, submarine, subglacial (also rare)

Calbulco 2
Smoke and ash rise from the Calbuco volcano as seen from the city of Puerto Montt, April 22, 2015. The Calbuco volcano in southern Chile erupted for the first time in more than five decades on Wednesday, sending a thick plume of ash and smoke several kilometres into the sky. REUTERS/Rafael Arenas
calbulco 5 night lightning
Smoke and lava spew from the Calbuco volcano, as seen from Puerto Varas, April 23, 2015. The Calbuco volcano in southern Chile erupted for the first time in more than five decades on Wednesday, sending a thick plume of ash and smoke several kilometres into the sky. Lightning is seen in the sky above the volcano. REUTERS/Carlos Gutierrez
cabulco 4 ash
A car covered with ashes from the Calbuco volcano is seen in the Patagonian Argentine city of San Carlos de Bariloche April 23, 2015. Volcano Calbuco in southern Chile erupted for the first time in more than five decades yesterday, sending a thick plume of ash and smoke nearly 20 kilometers (12 miles) into the sky. Chile's Onemi emergency office declared a red alert following the sudden eruption which occurred near the tourist town of Puerto Varas. As night fell, about 4,000 people had so far moved out of the area, an evacuation radius of 20 kilometers (12 miles) had been established and classes had been cancelled in surrounding towns, authorities said. REUTERS/Chiwi Giambirtone
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Smoke and ash rise from the Calbuco volcano, seen from Puerto Varas city, south of Santiago, April 22, 2015. Volcano Calbuco in southern Chile erupted for the first time in more than five decades on Wednesday, sending a thick plume of ash and smoke several kilometres into the sky. REUTERS/Carlos Gutierrez
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