Skip to main content
← Back to map
⇄ Compare

volcano Atacazo

Atacazo

Stratovolcano · Ecuador · 4463m

Atacazo stratovolcano, located 20 km south of Quito, is seen here from the west along the road to Guayaquil. The volcano contains a summit caldera that is partially filled by lava domes of Holocene age. Lava domes are also found on the SE flank. The only dated Holocene eruption took place about 2400 years ago, forming the Ninahuilca lava domes, the peaks below the center horizon.
Atacazo stratovolcano, located 20 km south of Quito, is seen here from the west along the road to Guayaquil. The volcano contains a summit caldera that is partially filled by lava domes of Holocene age. Lava domes are also found on the SE flank. The only dated Holocene eruption took place about 2400 years ago, forming the Ninahuilca lava domes, the peaks below the center horizon. · Photo: Photo by John Ewert, 1992 (U.S. Geological Survey). · Wikimedia Commons
Type
Stratovolcano
Country
Ecuador
Region
South America Volcanic Regions / Northern Andean Volcanic Arc
Elevation
4463m
Coordinates
-0.353, -78.617
Last eruption
-320
Tectonic setting
Subduction zone / Continental crust (> 25 km)
Landform
Composite
Major rock type
Andesite / Basaltic Andesite
Geological summary

Atacazo, located about 25 km SW of Quito, consists of a large Pleistocene andesitic stratovolcanoes truncated by a late-Pleistocene to Holocene caldera. Growth of the La Carcacha edifice was followed by construction of Atacazo, a stratovolcano with flank lava domes. The 6-km-wide caldera, which is breached to the SW, is partially filled by three dacitic Holocene lava-dome complexes. Two andesitic lava domes are also found on the SE flank. Several plinian eruptions have occurred at the Atacazo-Ninahuilca complex during the Holocene, accompanied by growth of lava domes. The latest dated eruption took place about 2300 years ago, forming the Ninahuilca Chico lava domes within the summit caldera. Dome formation was accompanied by Plinian explosive eruptions and pyroclastic flows that traveled 35 km down valleys to the west.

From Wikipedia

Atacazo is a volcano of the Western Cordillera located 25 kilometers southwest of Quito, Ecuador. Atacazo is a stratovolcano formed by the action of a Late-Pleistocene to Holocene caldera. The last eruption of the Atacazo was nearly 2300 years ago.

Wikipedia · CC BY-SA · Read full article →

Eruption history

Summary (VEI over time)
Click a bar to see individual eruptions
6910 BCE~6690 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI 43615 BCE~3395 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI 42517 BCE~2297 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI 5540 BCE~320 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI 56910 BCE5372 BCE3615 BCE2077 BCE540 BCE

Detailed timeline

  1. 320 BCE (±16 yrs)VEI 5Geological estimate
    BCE 320 – Ongoing
    Ninahuilca Chico II dome
  2. 2490 BCE (±40 yrs)VEI 5Geological estimate
    BCE 2490 – Ongoing
    Ninahuilca Chico I dome
  3. 3490 BCE (±100 yrs)VEI 4Geological estimate
    BCE 3490 – Ongoing
    Arenal II dome
  4. 6910 BCEVEI 4Geological estimate
    BCE 6910 – Ongoing
    La Cocha II dome

External links

⚠ For reference only. Not for emergency response.