Cotopaxi

Type of Volcano

Cotopaxi is a Statovolcano / Composite Volcano. This type of volcano is made of layers of hardened lava flows/ Pyroclastic materials. It is also a Continental Volcano.

Geologic Location

Its latitude .677 degrees South and its longitude is 78.436 degrees West. It is in South America, in a country called Ecuador. The capital of Ecuador, Quito, is located about 50 miles from Cotopaxi. Like many other volcanoes, Cotopaxi is located in the Pacific Ring of Fire. The Nazca (Ocean) plate is subducting underneath the South American (Continental) plate. This means it is in a convergent boundry because the oceantal plate is subducting underneath the continental plate, making volcanic mountains, such as Cotopaxi.

Eruption History

The most recent eruption was in 1940, but the last severe eruption was in 1904.
The most famous eruptions occurred on 1744, 1768, and 1877. The unforgettable one was in 1877. In 1877, pyroclastic flows scattered from all sides on the volcano. Also, lahars traveled more than 100km into the Pacific Ocean and in the Western Amazon Basin. On 1534, the volcano erupted and stopped the battle between the Incas and the Spaniards during their war.

Volcano Shape

Cotopaxi is significantly large, reaching 5911 Meters or 19393 feet. It is a symmetrical cone shape and is covered in snow. Cotopaxi is known to be one of the most active volcanoes in the world. Cotopaxi has one main crater covered in snow. There are many steam vents surrounding the crater. As you can see on the map, some of the neighboring volcanoes are Sangay, Chacana (Not active), and Antisana.

Eruption Style

Cotopaxi is known to be one of the most active volcanoes in the world, and it is an explosive volcano. Its lava type is ryolitic. This lava has high silica, high viscosity, and it is very explosive. The hazards of the volcano are lahars and pyroclastic flows. Lahar’s are fast moving mudflow that occurs during a volcanic eruption and melts the snow and ice on the volcano. Pyroclastic flows is a very dence and hot cloud of gas/ pyroclastic material that move down hill quickly during an eruption.

Environmental Dangers

Few plants are able to grow on Cotopaxi because the soil is soaked in water, combined with cold temperatures, and there are poor nutrients in the soil. The only plants that are able to survive are moss and lichens because they are deep under the ground. One of the main dangers of a Cotopaxi eruption is that the glacier on top of Cotopaxi would melt and ice would flow down, affecting about 100,000 people. Also, pyroclastic flows hurts the atmosphere by releasing toxic gases and heats the atmosphere.