Volcano Type: Compound volcano
Volcano Status: Historical
Last Known Eruption: 1786
Summit Elevation: 5790 m 18,996 feet
Latitude: 0.029°N 0°1’45″N
Longitude: 77.986°W 77°59’9″W
The massive compound andesitic-dacitic Cayambe stratovolcano is located on the isolated western edge of the Cordillera Real, east of the Inter-Andean Valley. The 5790-m-high volcano, whose southern flank lies astride the equator, is capped by extensive glaciers, which descend to 4200 m on the eastern Amazonian side. The modern Nevado Cayambe volcano, constructed to the east of older Pleistocene volcanic complexes, contains two summit lava domes located about 1.5 km apart, the western of which is the highest. Several other lava domes on the upper flanks have been the source of pyroclastic flows that reached the lower flanks of the volcano. A prominent Holocene pyroclastic cone on the lower eastern flank, La Virgen, fed thick andesitic lava flows that traveled about 10 km to the east. Nevado Cayambe was recently discovered to have produced frequent explosive eruptions during the Holocene beginning about 4000 years ago, and to have had a single historical eruption, during 1785-86.
Cayambe Volcano is located in northern Ecuador. The southern flank of the volcano is located on the equator. Cayambe Volcanic Complex is located in the northern part of the Cordillera Real in the Ecuadorian Andes, 60 km NE of the city of Quito and only 15 km E of the city of Cayambe (~ 20 000 inhabitants).
Cayambe Volcanic Complex has a roughly rectangular base (24 km EW by 18 km NS), located at an altitude of 2800-3000 m in the west, and in 3400-3800 m asl in the eastern part. The upper part of the complex, elongated in the direction EW, consists of a main summit (5790 m) and a secondary summit (5487 m) located 1.5 km E of the first. On the 4800 m asl, the complex is covered by a major ice cap that covers an area approximately 22 km 2 and reaching a thickness of 30-50 m at the summit. On the eastern flank, glaciers descend to 4400 m altitude, while in the western flank, the driest, the glaciers reach an altitude of 4600-4800 m.
Originally posted 2010-08-22 05:16:10.
