Volcano Journal Entry
Guagua Pichincha Stirs in Ecuador (March 20, 2001)
Photo of October 1999 Guagua Pichincha eruption by Daniel Andrude. Courtesy Ecuador Geophysics Institute.
Ecuador's Guagua Pichincha volcano shot a cloud of ash nearly four miles (six kilometers) into the atmosphere this week. A number of rockfalls and seismic tremors were also reported. A lava dome continued forming near the summit.
Guagua Pichincha is located just 7 miles (12 kilometers) from Ecuador's capital Quito. The volcano has showered Quito with ash a few times since it woke up from more than 300 years of dormancy in 1998. Guagua Pichincha is one of several volcanoes that form "volcano alley" surrounding Quito.
Most volcanoes occur near the edges of Earth's tectonic plates. Ecuador sits on the western edge of the South American plate in the region where the denser Nazca plate subducts or dives under it.
