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Report on Reventador (Ecuador) — 21 September-27 September 2022


Reventador

Smithsonian Institution / US Geological Survey
Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 21 September-27 September 2022
Managing Editor: Sally Sennert.

Please cite this report as:

Global Volcanism Program, 2022. Report on Reventador (Ecuador) (Sennert, S, ed.). Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 21 September-27 September 2022. Smithsonian Institution and US Geological Survey.

Weekly Report (21 September-27 September 2022)

Reventador

Ecuador

0.077°S, 77.656°W; summit elev. 3562 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


IG characterized the ongoing eruption at Reventador as moderate during 20-27 September. Gas, steam, and ash plumes, observed with webcams or reported by the Washington VAAC, rose as high as 1.3 km above the summit and drifted SW, W, NW, and NE. Crater incandescence was visible nightly; the lava flow on the NE flank continued to be active, and incandescent blocks were visible rolling 600-800 m down the flanks during 20-23 and 26-27 September.

Geological Summary. Volcán El Reventador is the most frequently active of a chain of Ecuadorian volcanoes in the Cordillera Real, well east of the principal volcanic axis. The forested, dominantly andesitic stratovolcano has 4-km-wide avalanche scarp open to the E formed by edifice collapse. A young, unvegetated, cone rises from the amphitheater floor to a height comparable to the rim. It has been the source of numerous lava flows as well as explosive eruptions visible from Quito, about 90 km ESE. Frequent lahars in this region of heavy rainfall have left extensive deposits on the scarp slope. The largest recorded eruption took place in 2002, producing a 17-km-high eruption column, pyroclastic flows that traveled up to 8 km, and lava flows from summit and flank vents.

Source: Instituto Geofísico-Escuela Politécnica Nacional (IG-EPN)