page_title: Volcanoes of South America
section_title: Ecuador
hierarchical_section_title: Volcanoes of South America / Andes / Ecuador
caption_attribution_description: Strombolian-style eruption of Tungurahua Volcano, Ecuador
context_page_description: The volcanoes of South America are part of the Pacific Ring of Fire. Most of them are along the backbone of the Andes.
  The Andes, together with the volcanoes, has been produced by the movement of the Americas towards the west. This has been happening for a long time, certainly 60 million years or more. This continental drift leads to subduction of oceanic plates beneath the continental plates of the land mass. In turn, this produced the mountain ranges and the volcanic activity.
  KSi visited south Columbia volcano
  A rather different cause is at work on the Galápagos Islands. There, a hotspot under the plate caused the islands and their volcanoes to rise up from the sea floor.
context_section_description: Cotopaxi is a stratovolcano in the Andes Mountains, about 50 km (31 mi) south of Quito, Ecuador, South America. It is the second highest summit in the country, reaching a height of 5,897 m (19,347 ft). Some consider it the world's highest active volcano. Others give this status to the much higher Llullaillaco, which most recently erupted in 1877 and is one of Ecuador's most active volcanoes. Since 1738, Cotopaxi has erupted more than 50 times, resulting in the creation of numerous valleys formed by lahars (mudflows) around the volcano.
  In October 1999, Pichincha Volcano erupted in Quito and covered the city with several inches of ash. Before that, the last major eruptions were in 1553  and in 1660, when about 30 cm of ash fell on the city.
  At 5230 meters, Sangay Volcano  is an active [stratovolcano] in central Ecuador. It is one of the highest active volcanoes in the world and one of Ecuador's most active ones, erupting three times in recorded history. It shows mostly Strombolian  activity. The most recent eruption, which started in 1934, is still ongoing. Geologically, Sangay marks the southern bound of the Northern Volcanic Zone, and its position straddling two major pieces of crust accounts for its high level of activity. Sangay's approximately 500,000 year old history is one of instability. Two previous versions of the mountain were destroyed in massive flank collapses, evidence of which still litters its surroundings today. Sangay is one of two active volcanoes located in the namesake Sangay National Park, the other being Tungurahua to the north. The Park has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1983.
  Reventador is an active stratovolcano which lies in the eastern Andes of Ecuador. Since 1541 it has erupted over 25 times with most recent eruption in 2009, but the largest historical eruption occurred in 2002. During that eruption the plume from the volcano reached a height of 17 km and pyroclastic flows went up to 7 km from the cone. On March 30, 2007, the mountain spewed ash again. The ash reached a height of about two miles (3 km, 11,000 ft). No injuries or damages have been reported.
caption: Tungurahua spews hot lava and ash at night (1999)
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