Cotopaxi

Cotopaxi, the loftiest active volcano in the world, is in Ecuador, in the eastern chain of the Andes, and about 50 miles S. of the equator. Humboldt gave the height at 18,880 feet; Reiss, the first to ascend it (in 1872), at 19,500 feet; Whynper, who ascended in 1880 to the edge of the crater, at 19,550 feet above the sea. The valley at its foot, however, is itself 9000 feet high. The upper part of Cotopaxi, a perfect cone of 4400 feet, is entirely covered with snow, save that the verge of the crater is a bare parapet of rock. Below the snow is a well-marked barren belt covered with lichens and shrubs, below which again is forest. Smoke issues from the summit; sounds as of explosions are occasionally heard; and above, a fiery glow is often visible by night. Lava rarely flows even during eruptions, but flame, smoke, and immense volumes of ashes are then ejected; and when the heat melts large masses of the snow lying on the sides, destructive floods are occasioned in the valleys beneath. The first eruption recorded was in 1533. Others followed in 1698, 1743, 1744, and 1768, the most terrible of all. On the latter occasion ashes were carried 130 miles distance, and thickly covered an extensive area. Cotopaxi was quiet till 1851. In 1854, 1855, and 1856 there were again eruptions of more or less violence.