Cerro Ratones is a partly eroded[1] andesitic stratovolcano in Argentina,[2] in the eastern edge of the Puna. The Diablillos-Galán fault zone intersects a volcanic lineament named Archibarca-Ratones beneath the volcano.[3]
The age of the volcano is equivocal; Oligocene ages of 30±3 mya are found but one biotite was dated by Argon-argon dating to be about 7 mya old.[3] Both dates come from lava flows; the older date would make this volcano one of the oldest in the area.[1] Toconquis group ignimbrites crop out next to the Ratones edifice.[4]
The Ojo de Ratones system is located northeast of Cerro Ratones and the Galan giant caldera 70 kilometres (43 mi) in the south.[4]