Tungurahua


Tungurahua, and rahua is an active stratovolcano located in the Cordillera Oriental of Ecuador. The volcano gives its name to the province of Tungurahua. Volcanic activity restarted on August 19, 1999, and is ongoing, with several major eruptions since then, the last starting on 1 February 2014.

Etymology

According to one theory the name Tungurahua is a combination of the Quichua tunguri and rahua meaning "Throat of Fire". According to another theory it is based on the Quichua uraua for crater. Tungurahua is also known as "The Black Giant" and, in local indigenous mythology it is allegedly referred to as Mama Tungurahua.

Geography and geology

Location

Tungurahua is located in the Cordillera Oriental of the Andes of central Ecuador, south of the capital Quito. Nearby notable mountains are Chimborazo and El Altar. It rises above the small thermal springs town of Baños de Agua Santa which is located at its foot to the north. Other nearby towns are Ambato, Baños and Riobamba. Tungurahua is part of the Sangay National Park.

Glacier

With its elevation of, Tungurahua just over tops the snow line. Tungurahua's top is snow-covered and did feature a small summit glacier which melted away after the increase of volcanic activity in 1999.

Volcanism

Today's volcanic edifice is constructed inside its predecessor's caldera which collapsed about 3000 years ago. The original edifice collapsed at the end of the Late Pleistocene.

Historical volcanic activity

Tungurahua's eruptions are strombolian. They produce andesite and dacite. All historical eruptions originated from the summit crater and have been accompanied by strong explosions, pyroclastic flows and sometimes lava flows. In the last 1,300 years Tungurahua entered every 80 to 100 years into an activity phase of which the major have been the ones of 1773, 1886 and 1916–1918.

Recent volcanic activity

In 2000, after a long period of quiescence, the volcano entered an eruptive phase that continues to this day. The renewed activity in October 1999 produced major ashfall and led to the temporary evacuation of more than 25,000 inhabitants from Baños and the surrounding area Activity continued at a medium level until May 2006, when activity increased dramatically, culminating in violent eruptions on 14 July 2006 and 16 August 2006. The 16 August 2006 eruption has been the most violent since activity commenced in 1999. This eruption was accompanied by a high ash plume which spread over an area of, depositing ash and tephra to the southwest of the volcano. Several pyroclastic flows were generated that killed at least five people, and destroyed a number of hamlets and roads on the eastern and northwestern slopes of the volcano.
A further eruption and evacuation occurred on 4 December 2010. Ecuador's National Agency of Risk Control issued a "red alert", later downgraded to orange. The Ecuadorean Institute for Geophysics reported a rapid increase in seismic activity, a number of explosions and an ash cloud reaching in height. Another eruption occurred on 18 December 2012 forcing evacuation of those living on the volcano's slopes. The volcano erupted again in July 2013. On 1 February 2014, the volcano erupted again.

First ascent

During their seven-year-long South America expedition, the German volcanologists Alphons Stübel and Wilhelm Reiss climbed Cotopaxi and Tungurahua.