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Report on Reventador (Ecuador) — 25 April-1 May 2007


Reventador

Smithsonian Institution / US Geological Survey
Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 25 April-1 May 2007
Managing Editor: Sally Sennert.

Please cite this report as:

Global Volcanism Program, 2007. Report on Reventador (Ecuador) (Sennert, S, ed.). Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 25 April-1 May 2007. Smithsonian Institution and US Geological Survey.

Weekly Report (25 April-1 May 2007)

Reventador

Ecuador

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

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


On 27 April, a steam plume from Reventador rose to an altitude of 3.7 km (12,000 ft) a.s.l. Later that night, incandescent material was ejected from the crater. On 30 April, a steam plume was observed on satellite imagery drifting NW. Based on the Guayaquil MWO and satellite imagery, the Washington VAAC reported that an ash plume rose to an altitude of 3.7 km (12,000 ft) and drifted NW. Visual observations were hindered during 25 April-1 May due to inclement weather.

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.

Sources: Washington Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC), Instituto Geofísico-Escuela Politécnica Nacional (IG-EPN)