Pichincha Volcano

Infobox Mountain
Name=Pichincha
Photo= Volcano pichincha rucu quito ecuador.jpg
Caption=Pichincha Rucu as seen from a trail from Quito to the top
Elevation=4,784 metres (15,696 ft)
Range=Andes
Location=Quito, Pichincha, Ecuador
Prominence =
Coordinates = coord|0.171|S|78.598|W|type:mountain
Topographic

Type=Stratovolcano
Age=Pleistocene
Last eruption=2004
First ascent = | Easiest route=

Pichincha is an active volcano in the country of Ecuador, whose capital Quito wraps around its eastern slopes. The mountain's two highest peaks are the Guagua (15,696 feet/4,784 m), which means "child" in Quechua and the Rucu (15, 413 feet/4,698 m), which means "old person". The active caldera is in the Guagua, on the western side of the mountain.

Both peaks are visible from the city of Quito and are easily climbed. Guagua is usually accessed from the village Lloa outside of Quito. In October of 1999, the volcano erupted and covered the city with several inches of ash. Prior to that, the last major eruption was in 1660, when about a foot of ash fell on the city.

The province in which it is located takes its name from the mountain, as is the case for many of the other provinces in Ecuador (Cotopaxi, Chimborazo, Imbabura, etc). On May 24, 1822, in the context of the war of independence of Latin American, Patriot forces defeated a Spanish colonial army on the slopes of the Pichincha. The encounter, known as the Battle of Pichincha, sealed the independence of the lands that constitute modern Ecuador.

ee also

*List of volcanoes in Ecuador
*List of stratovolcanoes

References

*
* (in Spanish)

External links

*http://www.igepn.edu.ec/vulcanologia/pichincha/pichincha.htm
* [http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/Ecuador/description_ecuador_volcanoes.html CVO Website - Ecuador Volcanoes and Volcanics]
* [http://www.ecuador365.com/ Photographs of the Andes]
* [http://www.osei.noaa.gov/guagua.html "Eruptions of Guagua Pichincha (1999)" NOAA Operational Significant Event Imagery]