Ecuador Volcanoes are many in number. The Andes Mountains falls in the Ring of Fire which is a major tectonic belt along which volcanoes and earthquakes occur. A large part of Ecuador being in the Andes Mountains, this country boasts of a number of volcanoes.
Cotopaxi
Cotopaxi situated 60 km South – East of Quito is the highest active Ecuador Volcano. It is located in the Eastern Cordilleras at 0.677 º S and 78.43 º W. It is a perfect symmetrical cone rising from a highland plain of 3800 meter, and reaching a height of 5387 meter. From 5000 meter upwards there is formation of glacier. The crater at the top is 600 x 800 meter.
The side cone has deep valleys composed of 'lahar' (mixture of lava, mud, and water). Eruptions were recorded in 1534 (during a battle between the Incas and Spaniards), 1744, 1768, 1877, 1904, and 1975.
Turgurahua
This active Ecuador Volcano is also called 'the Black Giant'. This also is located in the Eastern Cordilleras at a location of 1.467 º S, and 78.44º W. Its height is 5023 meter and has a crater of width 183 meter.
This Volcano of Ecuador has erupted at least 17 times in historical period, the last being in 1944. The lava flows consisted mainly of basalt, which is black in color. Banos, the nearest city, experiences tremors from time to time.
Guagua Pichincha
The geographical position of this Ecuador Volcano is 0.17º S, and 78.6º W. It has an elevation of 4784 meter, and is lsituated 11 km from Quito. The crater is horseshoe shaped with a diameter of 2 km and depth 600 meters.
Guagua Pichincha has a history of 25 eruptions. The last magma eruption took place in 1660. Thereafter, all eruptions have been phreatic (of water) in nature. Two geologists were killed in such an eruption in 1993.
Ecuador Sightseeing is incomplete without a visit to Reventador, Sangay, Palulahua, and Cuicocha which are other notable Volcanoes of Ecuador.
