Ecuador Volcano Cotopaxi

Cotopaxi is a stratovolcano located in the Andes Mountains of Ecuador, about 50 miles south of Quito.

It is the second highest point in Ecuador and at 5,897 meters above sea level, its climate is glacial. The first being Chimborazo volcano.

The steep-sided cone of the volcano is capped by nested summit craters 650 x 800 meters in diameter. Deep valleys scoured by lahars radiate from the summit and large andesitic lava flows extend as far as the base of Cotopaxi.

Lahars accompanying explosive eruptions of this Ecuador volcano have frequently devastated adjacent valleys. The most violent historical eruptions took place in 1744, 1768, and 1877.

In 1877 pyroclastic flows descended all sides of the volcano in and lahars traveled more than 100 kilometers into the Pacific Ocean and western Amazon basin. The last significant eruption took place in 1904.



There's a national park that protects a large area surrounding the volcano, and it's home to wild horses, deer, rabbits, llamas and pumas.

The park includes forests and plains, home to animals and birds such as Andean condors, blue-billed pointed ducks, Andean gulls, hummingbirds, gazelles, moorland wolves, bears, foxes and weasels.

The Cotopaxi National Park is a great location for hiking, climbing and trekking, as well as for enjoy stunning panoramas from down below.

For you comfort there are two hotels near the entrance of the Cotopaxi national park or you can camp in one of the park's cabins.

Chimborazo Ecuador Volcano

It is located near the City of Riobamba in the central region of Ecuador.

The summit of Chimborazo constitutes the furthest point from the center of the Earth because of the high elevation and the location of the volcano at the Equator.

In the Indian language, Chimborazo means mountain of snow. Alexander Von Humboldt made an unsuccessful attempt to climb this Ecuador volcano in 1802, and believed it to be the highest mountain in the world.

This distinction lasted until the discovery of Mt. Everest fifty years later.

Tungurahua Volcano

It has fascinated geologists, vulcanologists, nature lovers, tourists and residents with a spectacular display of eruption activity since 1999.

At 5,897 meters, its medium-intensity eruptions are full with beaming lights, thundering blasts, bellowing clouds of vapor, sulfur ashes, streams of lava and incandescent rocks tumbling down its flanks.

Tungurahua volcano is located on the outskirts of the Town of Banos at 8 km from its crater.

Banos is a small town always full of bustling tourists looking for a nice temperate weather, exciting trips and expeditions around the area.

Gondola riding, hot-springs, trekking, horseback riding, climbing, mountain biking, rafting and of course Tungurahua Volcano Watching are amongst its best attractions.

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Ecuador is part of the Pacific Ring of volcanoes named "Ring of Fire" being an Andean country is part of that ring and all its major peaks in the Andes Mountains are of volcanic origins.

The type of volcanoes found in Ecuador are high and steep-sided stratovolcanoes, which are known to have sudden and violent eruptions with longer periods of dormancy.

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