Megan Lasher and Natalie ThompsonDept. of Geology, Colby College

El Reventador

Location: Northern Ecuador

Photos courtesy of Google Maps ©

Plate tectonics of the Andes

http://people.rit.edu/rhrsbi/GalapagosPages/Vulcanism2.html

Reventador is located in the northern Andes, which are along the South American tectonic plate, next to the Nazca Plate.

The BasicsType: StratovolcanoElevation: 11,683 ft

Features: - 4 km.- wide caldera on the eastern side

- A dome named “El Copote”- Flank vents

- A steam and gas plume in the central cone

Eruptive history

- 22 times in recorded history, starting in 1541

- Most active in the 20th and 21st centuries, with 15 eruptions recorded since 1912

http://www.andes.info.ec/es/actualidad/alerta-amarilla-napo-orellana-sucumb%C3%ADos-ante-reactivaci%C3%B3n-volc%C3%A1n-reventador.html

Eruptive history continued

1. Basal Volcanic Complex2. Intermediate volcano growth3. Present-day Volcano Reventador

Eruption descriptions

The most recent eruptions have been characterized by: 2002:

Pyroclastic flows and major ash clouds accompanied lava flows from the summit and flank vents

2007: Lahars observed in June after ash emissions in May

2008:Categorized as a Strombolian explosion

with two lava flows.

Hazards - 2.6 million people within 100km

- The 2002 eruption caused a layer

of ash 3-5 mm thick

- The last eruption forced the Trans-Ecuadorian Oil Pipeline to shut down

Rocks

Andesite/Basaltic AndesiteBasalt/Picro-BasaltDacite

Pyroclastic flows: black basaltic andesite, olivine, augite, hypersthene, hornblende

http://poleshift.ning.com/profiles/blog/show?id=3863141%3ABlogPost%3A707141&page=26

Tremors, earthquakes, explosions, steam emissions, incandescent lava flows

Tourism- Located in the Cayambe Coca Ecological Reserve

Cameras and seismometers around El Reventador monitor the frequent seismic activity

Current Activity

Bibliography - Smithsonian Institution: Global Volcanism Program, 2013, at

http://www.volcano.si.edu/volcano.cfm?vn=352010, (accessed 22 January, 2015) - Volcano Discovery, 2014, at

http://www.volcanodiscovery.com/ecuador/reventador.html (accessed 22 January, 2015)

- Oregon State University: Volcano World, 2015, at http://volcano.oregonstate.edu/reventador (accessed 22 January, 2015)

- Vulkaner, 2014, at http://www.vulkaner.no/v/volcan/latinam/reventador_e.html (accessed 22 January, 2015)

- Ecuador Travel Guide: The Best of Ecuador, 2001, at http://www.thebestofecuador.com/revtrek.htm (accessed 22 January, 2015)

- Summit Post, 2006, at http://www.summitpost.org/el-reventador/154247 (accessed 22 January, 2015)