Tungurahua

Tungurahua [Quechua,=throat of fire], snow-capped volcano, 16,479 ft (5,203 m) high, central Ecuador, c.85 mi (135 km) SE of Quito. Its eruptions typically occur at intervals of 80 to 100 years. In the 20th cent., it erupted from 1916 to 1918, with minor activity continuing until 1925. Tungurahua was then quiet until a large eruption in 1999, and it has erupted periodically since then.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

See more Encyclopedia articles on: Latin American and Caribbean Physical Geography