[6] An unrelated location named "Pular" lies in the Sierra de Almeida, on the other side of Monturaqui from the volcano, and is famous for its bitumen.

[8] The Monturaqui mining camp and the station on the Salta-Antofagasta railway of the same name, which however are at some distance from each other, lie southwest from Pular.

[8] Other volcanoes in the area are Tanque east-northeast,[4] Aracar across the Salar de Pular,[31] Socompa southwest and Salin south of Pajonales-Pular[8] and El Negrillar due west;[32] there are many others.

[25] There are reports of solfataric activity,[38] thermal anomalies of 11 °C (20 °F) observed in satellite images may be due to sulfur deposits.

[40] The region is remote and renewed activity - which would most likely consist of lava and pyroclastic flows - is unlikely to have any impact:[28] SERNAGEOMIN's hazard map shows no infrastructure in the danger area of Pular-Pajonales.

[9] The South Pacific Anticyclone is the dominant feature of regional climate and responsible for the aridity of the Central Andes.

The weather is characterized by the lack of cloud cover, which in turn leads to extreme insolation and an intense diurnal temperature cycle.

[22] Groundwater, some of which bears traces of volcanic influence (although not necessarily from Pular itself) comes from the volcanoes in the area and salt flats east of the main arc[41] and drains to the Salar de Atacama.

Only the highest summits like Ojos del Salado and Llullaillaco feature perennial ice,[21] a borderline example of a glacier is found on the southern side of Pular[45] and the ridge is frequently covered by snow.

[44] Numerous moraines occur within the drainage network of Pajonales-Pular[46] and reflect past glaciation, when the equilibrium line altitude had descended to 5,200 metres (17,100 ft) elevation.

A snowfield presently occupies one of the areas on the southeastern slopes that was formerly glaciated,[48] and ephemeral lakes filled with snowmelt water occasionally appear on the mountain.