Peaks of Ecuador

The Andes Mountains in Ecuador are the highest part on earth from the earth’s core and the closest to the sun. This is true because it is on the equator, the farthest part from the core. There are five volcanoes in particular that are the highest in Ecuador: Chimborazo, Cotopaxi, Cayambe, Antisana, and Sangay.
The Andes Mountains were formed by subducting plates. This happens when one oceanic plate slides under a continental plate. When the oceanic plate subducts, it melts and forces magma to rise, creating volcanoes. These mountains run from the top of South America to the bottom tip and are made by the Nazca Plate subducting under the South American Plate. In Ecuador there is a great valley that holds all the major cities in the central part of the country. It is called the Central Valley and is about 30 miles across and runs 250 miles North and South.
Chimborazo is 93 miles southwest of Ecuador´s capital, Quito, and is the highest volcano in Ecuador. Chimborazo is an inactive stratovolcano that has a height of 6,268 meters (20,565 ft) with a base of 20 kilometers (12.43miles) wide. A stratovolcano is a volcano that has been built by lava and ash piled up over time from multiple explosions. Experts say that Chimborazo´s last explosion was during the first millennium. The volcano´s peak is covered in a thick glacier that starts at 4,600 meters (about 16,000ft) and continues to the top. Due to global warming the glacier is losing one meter of ice a month which is concerning because it is a big source of water to the cities of Ecuador. The ice is also mined from the volcano´s slopes to make ice cream. Chimborazo used to be called Urcorazo which means ¨mountain of ice¨. There were many attempts to get to the top but the first to reach the summit was an English man named Edward Whymper in 1880.
Cotopaxi, 50 miles south of Quito, is the second highest active volcano in the world. Cotopaxi is also a stratovolcano that has a height of 5,897 meters (19,347ft) and a base of 23 kilometers (14.29miles) wide. This volcano is one of the most climbed mountains in Ecuador. Sometimes 100 or more climbers scale Cotopaxi in a week. It has a glacier starting at 5,000 meters (about 16,000ft) continuing to the top. More than 50 eruptions have rocked Cotopaxi since 1768 and experts say that there may be another big explosion soon. The most recent eruptions were in 1942 and 1975, but they were not very big. The most violent explosions were in 1744, 1768, 1877, 1903, and 1904. When the Spanish were fighting the Inca in the early 1500´s, there was also a big explosion that they believed to be a bad omen and they ceased fighting. Cotopaxi is also the grueling volcano my dad and I attempted to scale but failed due to lack of sleep.
Cayambe, 43 miles northeast from Quito, is the third highest active volcano in Ecuador with a height of 5,800 meters (19,024ft). It has been described as a Holocene Compound volcano, which means it is a fairly new volcano and is complex. For example it has many lava tubes leading to the surface; another is that it is not necessarily a cone like most volcanoes. It is more of a jagged, multi humped peak with many faces to climb. This volcano like so many others has a permanent snow cap. This mountain was first concord by Edward Whymper, the same person that first climbed Chimborazo also in 1880.
Antisana, 50 kilometers (31mi) southeast of Quito, is the fourth highest volcano in the mountains of Ecuador. Its height is 5,752 meters (18,867ft) from sea level. It also may be called a stratovolcano and is the most difficult climb within these five mountains. Another volcano in Ecuador is Sangay. It is the southernmost peak of the country and has a height of 5,230 meters (17,154ft). This stratovolcano is very active, in fact it is one of the most active volcanoes in the Andes Mountains and is said that it is constantly erupting.
There are many more peaks in Ecuador. Most of these peaks are substantially higher than the mountains in United States. If you were to climb any one of these mountains you would literally be at the top of the world. These mountains are major water and recreation resources to Ecuador and are preserved carefully. Mountains might be one of the most amazing things on earth and in the Andes Mountains it is especially fascinating because of how many volcanoes are so close together near the equator.