Report on Reventador (Ecuador) — 15 October-21 October 2003
Smithsonian / US Geological Survey Weekly Volcanic Activity Report,
15 October-21 October 2003
Managing Editor: Gari Mayberry
Please cite this report as:
Global Volcanism Program, 2003. Report on Reventador (Ecuador). In: Mayberry, G (ed.), Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 15 October-21 October 2003. Smithsonian Institution and US Geological Survey.
Reventador
Ecuador
0.077°S, 77.656°W; summit elev. 3562 m
All times are local (unless otherwise noted)
During 13-19 October at Reventador, 77 volcano-tectonic and 17 long-period earthquakes were recorded, averaging eleven and two earthquakes per day, respectively. Lahars were reported on 13, 14, and 19 October. The lahar on 13 October was the largest of the week, lasting ~75 minutes.
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 about 1,300 m 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 constructed a debris plain on the eastern floor of the scarp. 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)