Atacazo is a volcano of the Western Cordillera located 25 kilometers southwest of

Quito Quito (; qu, Kitu), formally San Francisco de Quito, is the capital and largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its urban area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha. Quito is located in a valley o ...

, Ecuador. Atacazo is a

stratovolcano A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a conical volcano built up by many layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile with a summit crater and per ...

formed by the action of a Late-Pleistocene to Holocene

caldera A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcano eruption. When large volumes of magma are erupted over a short time, structural support for the rock above the magma chamber is ...

. The last eruption of the Atacazo was nearly 2300 years ago.

References

Stratovolcanoes of Ecuador Four-thousanders of the Andes Pleistocene stratovolcanoes Holocene stratovolcanoes Pleistocene calderas Holocene calderas {{Ecuador-geo-stub

See also

References