Terrestrial heat flow in western South America

Twenty heat-flow measurements were made in western South America (nine in Chile, one in Argentine, five in Peru, one in Ecuador, and five in Bolivia), using available holes. From the values obtained, combined with several others published previously, it may be concluded that the heat flow in this subduction plate boundary area resembles that of other trench-arc systems, with low heat flow prevailing closer to the trench and high heat flow prevailing on the volcanic arc. Due to the limited distribution of sites, the regional heat flow in the area landward of the volcanic zone cannot be assessed with confidence, although high heat flow, somewhat analogous to that observed in young back-arc basins of island arcs, might exist in Bolivia, but not in Argentine.