The most recent eruptions in the volcanic field took place 2,500 ± 700, 1,400 ± 600 and 800 ± 600 years ago and generated lava flows; today geothermal phenomena occur at Laguna del Maule.

[10] Otherwise, the region is sparsely inhabited[11] and economic activity is limited to oil prospecting, pastures and tourism;[12] the closest towns are La Mina and Los Cipreses over 20 km (12 mi) northwest of Laguna del Maule.

[18] A number of Quaternary volcanic systems of various ages surround Laguna del Maule lake,[5] including about 14 shield volcanoes and stratovolcanoes that have been degraded by glaciation.

Loma de Los Espejos is a large lava flow of acidic rocks that is 4 km (2.5 mi) long in the northern sector of the volcanic field, close to the outlet of Laguna del Maule.

The well-preserved Colada de las Nieblas lava flow is in the extreme southwest sector of the volcanic field and originates at a tuff cone.

[32] On the lakefloor are slump scars, pits that may be pockmarks, and a basin in the northern lake sector that may be the crater of an early Holocene Plinian eruption.

When the dam broke[34][19] 9,400 years ago,[35] a lake outburst flood occurred that released 12 km3 (2.9 cu mi) of water and left traces, such as scour, in the down-valley gorge.

[44] The Laguna Sin Salida ("lake without exit"; so named because it lacks a river running out of it) is in the northeastern sector of the volcanic field and it formed within a glacial cirque.

[52] Major volcanoes of the Southern Volcanic Zone include from north to south: Maipo, Cerro Azul, Calabozos, Tatara-San Pedro, Laguna del Maule, Antuco, Villarrica, Puyehue-Cordón Caulle, Osorno, and Chaitén.

During the Late Miocene, the convergence rate was higher than today and the Malargüe fold belt formed east of the main chain in response.

[40] Other north–south cutting faults are found within the Campanario Formation[5] and the tectonic Las Loicas Trough is associated with Laguna del Maule and passes southeast of it.

[74] The activity of Tatara-San Pedro and Laguna del Maule with the presence of rhyolite may be influenced by the subduction of the Mocha fracture zone, which projects in the direction of these volcanic centres.

[95] Hydrothermal alteration has been reported at various sites such as La Zorra, generating alunite, calcite, halite, illite, jarosite, kaolinite, montmorillonite, opal, quartz, pyrite, smectite, sulfur, travertine and zeolite.

[96][20] At La Zorra there are occurrences of actinolite, apatite, augite, calcite, chlorite, hypersthene, ilmenite, magnetite, phlogopite, pyrite, pyroxene, quartz, thorite, titanite and zircon.

[14] Research published in 2017 by Anderson et al. indicates that this system is somewhat heterogeneous with distinct compositions of magmas erupted in the northwesterly and southeasterly parts of the volcanic field.

[34] From Sr isotope ratios it has been inferred that the magma is of deep origin,[100] and the rare-earth element composition shows no evidence of crustal contamination.

[113] These sites yield obsidians with varying properties, from large blocks at Laguna del Maule to smaller pebbles probably carried by water at Arroyo El Pehuenche.

[119] Laguna del Maule is subject to the rain shadow effect of mountains farther west, which is why the numerous summits more than 3,000 m (9,800 ft) high around the lake are not glaciated.

[144] A first, large Plinian eruption (unit rdm) formed the rhyolite of Laguna del Maule measuring 20 km3 (4.8 cu mi) from a vent presumably located below the northern part of the lake.

[30] This rhyolitic flare-up is unprecedented the history of the volcanic field,[145] and it is the largest such event in the southern Andes[31] and on a global scale only the Mono-Inyo Craters and Taupō rival it.

[160] Explosive activity including ash and pumice has accompanied a number of the postglacial eruptions; the largest is associated with Los Espejos and has been dated to 23,000 years ago.

[15] A tephra layer in the Argentine Caverna de las Brujas cave dated 7,780 ± 600 years ago has been tentatively linked to Laguna del Maule,[162] and another with a thickness of 80 cm (31 in) that is 65 km (40 mi) away from Laguna del Maule is dated 765 ± 200 years ago and appears to coincide with a time with no archaeological findings in the high cordillera.

The El Manzano tephra reaches a thickness of 3 m (9.8 ft) about 60 km (37 mi) away from Laguna del Maule and would have had a severe impact on Holocene human communities south of Mendoza.

[170] It and the neighbouring Tatara-San Pedro volcano form the so-called Mariposa geothermal system discovered in 2009, whose temperature has been estimated on the basis of gas chemistry to be 200–290 °C (392–554 °F)[49] and which features fumaroles.

[171] The Laguna del Maule volcanic system is undergoing strong deformation;[14] uplift between 2004 and 2007[172] attracted the attention of the public and the global scientific community after it was detected by radar interferometry.

Other actively deforming dormant volcanoes in the world are Lazufre in Chile, Santorini in Greece from 2011 to 2012, and Yellowstone Caldera in the United States at a rate of 1/7th that of Laguna del Maule.

[179] There is evidence that earlier deformations occurred at Laguna del Maule,[133] with the lake shores having risen by about 67 m (220 ft) during the Holocene[180] possibly as a consequence of about 20 km3 (4.8 cu mi) entering the magmatic system[36] and accumulating in the area of the Barrancas vents.

[133] A major volcano-tectonic earthquake swarm occurred in January 2013,[173] possibly due to faults and underground liquids being pressurized by the intrusion of magma.

[200] In particular, the scarce fumarolic activity implies that a large amount of gas is trapped within the magma reservoir, increasing the hazard of an explosive eruption.

[203] The Argentine Servicio Geológico Minero[204] and the Chilean National Geology and Mining Service monitor the volcano[205] with a network of stations,[206] and a bi-national volcanic hazard map has been published.