Cotopaxi Volcano now showing seismic swarms - 5 Mar 2014 - this volcano should be monitored for activity considering its location, and
from: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/...39756/Cotopaxi - Britannica's historical on Cotopaxi
"Cotopaxi, volcanic peak, in the Cordillera Central of the Andes, central Ecuador. Rising to 19,347 feet (5,897 m), it is the world’s highest continuously active volcano.
"Cotopaxi has an almost perfectly symmetrical cone, interrupted only by one minor cone—the Cabeza del Inca (“Inca’s Head”).
"The mountain has a long record of violent eruption and has seldom remained quiescent for more than 15 years. The terrain around the mountain’s base has many times been devastated by earthquakes or been buried in pumice and ash blown out of the crater.
"Lava that boils constantly in its crater emits plumes of steam. The mountain itself is built up of alternating flows of dark-coloured trachytic lava and falls of lighter-coloured ash.
"The crater at the top is 2,300 feet (700 m) in diameter from north to south and 1,650 feet (500 m) from east to west. Its depth is 1,200 feet (366 m). The base of the volcano stands on open mountain grassland, but the whole upper part of the mountain is covered with permanent snow."
Following where the magma flow under Ecuador's northern mountains may be moving, after Tungurahua abruptly stopped obvious eruption activity a few days ago, Reventador north northeast of Quito started an increase of activity. That activity continued for a few days, and then volcanic seismic activity picked up at GuaGua Pichincha to the west a bit, but very close to Quito. That diminished and activity started to the southeast of there, with seismic swarms of Cotopaxi.
ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotopaxi - wiki's CotoPaxi data
"Cotopaxi is a stratovolcano in the Andes Mountains, located about 50 km (31 mi) south of Quito, Ecuador, South America.
"It is the second highest summit in the country, reaching a height of 5,897 m (19,347 ft) and is one of the highest active volcanoes in the world. "
"Since 1738, Cotopaxi has erupted more than 50 times, resulting in the creation of numerous valleys formed by lahars (mudflows) around the volcano."
Eruption Danger
Future Cotopaxi eruptions pose a high risk to the local population, their settlements and fields.
The main danger of a huge eruption of Cotopaxi would be the flow of ice from its glacier. If there were to be a very large explosion, it would destroy most of the settlements within the valley in the suburban area of Quito (with a population of more than 2,000,000).
Another city which would be in great danger is Latacunga which is located in the south valley and was destroyed in the 18th century by volcanic activity.
Cotopaxi is about midway between Tungurahua and Reventador volcanoes, both of which have been erupting in February, 2014.
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