Volcano Top Trumps

I can't believe I'm leaving this country in less than 48 hours! I have really treasured my time here in Ecuador. By my estimate, I have been to 9 volcanoes during my two months' here. Not bad! Volcanoes are what I came for, saw, and mostly conquered; although Cayambe remained out of my reach on this occasion. My plan on return is to complete the '1-2-3': Chimborazo, Cotopaxi, and Cayambe. We'll see how I get on!

My farewell-for-now to Ecuador is this portfolio on the volcanoes I've visited so far. They're in order of the time visited between 16/10/15 and 14/12/15. I've also added stats particular to each volcano, based on the 'Top Trumps' model. Here we go! Explanations and references can be found at the bottom of the page.

                                                                                                                  

Name - COTOPAXI (Quechwa, 'mouth of the moon')

Height (m) - 5,897

Strength - 4

Agility - 1

Age - 2015 CE (years after 0 A.D.)

Fighting Skills - Volcano-tectonic, hybrid and long-seismicity events. Powerful lahars.

                                                                                                                  

Wawa Pichincha in background (4,784 m).

Ruku Pichincha (4,969 m)

Name - WAWA PICHINCHA (Quechwa, 'baby Pichincha') 

and RUKU PICHINCHA (Quechwa, 'old man Pichincha')

Height (m) - 4,784 (Wawa) and 4,696 (Ruku)

Strength - 4

Agility - 2

Age - 2002 CE

Fighting Skills - Explosive activity. Vicinity to Quito provides alarming edge to ashfalls.

                                                                                                                  

Name - CHACANA (?, Related to 'chacana' cross?)

Height (m) - 4,643

Strength - 0

Agility - 2

Age - 1773 CE

Fighting Skills - Historical andesitic lava flows.

                                                                                                                  

Name - TUNGURAHUA (Quechwa, 'throat of fire')

Height (m) - 5,023

Strength - 4

Agility - 100

Age - 2015 CE

Fighting Skills - Everything. Pyroclastic flows, ash falls, lahars, Strombolian activity, 

explosions, gas, ash, and water vapour emissions.

                                                                                                                  

Name - QUILOTOA (Quechwa, 'toothed queen')

Height (m) - 3,914

Strength - 6 (non-historic)

Agility - 0

Age - 1280 CE

Fighting Skills - Plinian eruption of VEI 6 (1280 CE), 'bottomless' lake

                                                                                                                  

Name - FUYA-FUYA (Quechwa, 'cold-cold')

Height (m) - 4,263

Strength - N/A

Agility - 4

Age - 0.2 Ma

Fighting Skills - Caldera collapse

                                                                                                                  

Name - ILINIZA (Kunza, 'masculine hill')

Height (m) - 5,248 (Sur) and 5, 126 (Norte)

Strength - N/A

Agility - 2

Age - >10,000a BP

Fighting Skills - None. Pleistocene activity, intermediate andesitic-to-dacitic composition.

Iliniza Sur (5,248 m)

Iliniza Norte (5, 126 m)

                                                                                                                  

Name - ANTISANA (Quechwa, 'dark mountain')

Height (m) - 5,704

Strength - 0

Agility - 1

Age - 1802 CE

Fighting Skills - Viscous historical blocky lava flows (c. 1800 CE).

                                                                                                                  

Name - CAYAMBE (Quitus, 'youth, origin of life')

Height (m) - 5,790

Strength - 4

Agility - 2

Age - 1786 CE

Fighting Skills - Holocene explosive eruptions, 4000a BP

                                                                                                                  

Notes: 'Strength' is based on eruption with largest VEI in historic activity (defined as since 1534, the year of Quito's foundation. 'Age' is just a number, but is defined here by date of last confirmed eruption. 'Fighting skills' defined as volcano-tectonic behaviour particularly associated with that volcano, if there is any.

References: main sources are volcano.si.edu, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andean_Volcanic_Belt, www.volcanodiscovery.com, and www.summitpost.org.
Specifically interesting pages:
- http://www.ecuaworld.com/climbing-cayambe/
- http://www.ecuador.com/protected-areas/antisana-ecological-reserve/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illiniza
- https://jenainecuador.wordpress.com/2012/08/20/lagunas-de-mojanda/
- http://www.villadetacvnga.com/services/quilotoa-tour/

All that's left to say is thank you so much if you have been reading along and supporting the journey. It's really appreciated, and I love hearing back from people about the content or style, whether complimentary or critical. I love writing as a way to record my travels, and I hope this has encouraged someone to take that next step into adventure, whether that's starting a journal or planning a next trip.

Entonces, nos vemos en un ratito, Ecuador!

Sun rising north of an erupting Cotopaxi, caught from path up to Iliniza Norte.