Cotopaxi

Cotopaxi
/koh'teuh pak"see/; Sp. /kaw'taw pah"hee/, n.
a volcano in central Ecuador, in the Andes: the highest active volcano in the world. 19,498 ft. (5943 m).

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Volcanic peak in the Andes Mountains, central Ecuador.

Rising to 19,347 ft (5,897 m), it is the world's highest continuously active volcano. Its almost perfectly symmetrical cone is often hidden by clouds that are lit at night by the crater's fires. Its base stands on open mountain grassland, and its upper part is covered with permanent snow. With a long record of violent eruption, it has seldom remained quiet for more than 15 years.

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 volcanic peak, in the Cordillera Central of the Andes, central Ecuador. Rising to 19,347 feet (5,897 m), it is the world's highest continuously active volcano. Cotopaxi has an almost perfectly symmetrical cone, interrupted only by one minor cone—the Cabeza del Inca (“Inca's Head”). The mountain has a long record of violent eruption and has seldom remained quiescent for more than 15 years. The terrain around the mountain's base has many times been devastated by earthquakes or been buried in pumice and ash blown out of the crater. Lava that boils constantly in its crater emits plumes of steam. The mountain itself is built up of alternating flows of dark-coloured trachytic lava and falls of lighter-coloured ash. The crater at the top is 2,300 feet (700 m) in diameter from north to south and 1,650 feet (500 m) from east to west. Its depth is 1,200 feet (366 m). The base of the volcano stands on open mountain grassland, but the whole upper part of the mountain is covered with permanent snow.

      The first European to attempt an ascent of Cotopaxi was Alexander von Humboldt (Humboldt, Alexander von) in 1802. He failed to reach the top and pronounced the mountain unclimbable. Other failures in 1831 and 1858 seemed to confirm this verdict. But in 1872 the German scientist and traveler Wilhelm Reiss succeeded in reaching the top on November 28, and in May of the following year A. Stübel was also successful. Cotopaxi and its surrounding grasslands are protected in Cotopaxi National Park, a major tourist attraction.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Cotopaxi — Der Cotopaxi Höhe 5.897 m …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Cotopaxi — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Cotopaxi es un topónimo ecuatoriano que en lengua local significa cuello de la luna . Puede hacer referencia a: Cotopaxi, provincia de Ecuador. Volcán Cotopaxi, en Ecuador. Parque Nacional Cotopaxi, en las cercanías… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Cotopaxi — es un topónimo ecuatoriano que en lengua local significa trono de la luna . Se aplica a: ● Un volcán en Ecuador, véase Cotopaxi (volcán). ● Una provincia en ese país, véase Cotopaxi (provincia). * * * Volcán de los Andes en el Ecuador central, en …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Cotopaxi — (spr. páchi), höchster tätiger Vulkan der Erde, in den Kordilleren von Ecuador, unter 0°43 südl. Br., östlich von Quito, 5940 m hoch, mit einem Krater von über 800 m Durchmesser. Die Schneegrenze liegt zwischen 4629 u. 4762 m Höhe. Er scheint… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Cotopaxi — (spr. páchi), höchster tätiger (zuletzt 1877) Vulkan der Erde, in den Ostkordilleren von Ecuador, 5943 m hoch …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • Cotopaxi — Cotopaxi, thätiger Vulkan in den Anden von Quito, 17710 hoch …   Herders Conversations-Lexikon

  • Cotopaxi — volcan actif des Andes (5 897 m), en équateur …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Cotopaxi — [kō΄tə pak′sē; ] Sp [ kō̂΄tō̂ pä′hē] volcano in the Andes, in N Ecuador: 19,344 ft (5,896 m) …   English World dictionary

  • Cotopaxi — For other uses, see Cotopaxi (disambiguation). Cotopaxi Cotopaxi seen from the high plain (3.700 + m.) of Cotopaxi National Park …   Wikipedia

  • Cotopaxi — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Cotopaxi (homonymie). Cotopaxi Vue du Cotopaxi. Géographie …   Wikipédia en Français

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