Casitahua (less frequent spelling: ''Casitagua'') is a dormant, eroded

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

in the north of

Quito Canton Quito, officially the Metropolitan District of Quito (), is a Cantons of Ecuador, canton in the province of Pichincha Province, Pichincha, Ecuador. Governance The Municipality of Quito (officially the Municipality of the Metropolitan District o ...

Pichincha Province Pichincha () is a province of Ecuador located in the northern Sierra region; its capital and largest city is Quito. It is bordered by Imbabura and Esmeraldas to the north, Cotopaxi and Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas to the south, Napo and ...

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

, with a height of . The volcano is in the Western Cordillera of the northern Ecuadorian

Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...

, between Pululagua Volcano to the north and

Pichincha Volcano Pichincha is a stratovolcano in Ecuador. The capital Quito wraps around its eastern slopes. The two highest peaks of the mountain are Wawa Pichincha ( Kichwa ''wawa'' child, baby / small, Spanish spelling ''Guagua Pichincha'') () and Ruku Pichinc ...

approximately to the southwest. Casitahua's caldera is open approximately towards the west-northwest. The

volcano A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most oft ...

has last been active in the

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...

era. Casitahua is surrounded by the urban parishes

El Condado Condado (Spanish for ''county'') is a highly urbanized beachfront resort, commercial, and residential district with various upscale hotels, restaurants, boutique shops, and condos in the barrio of Santurce in San Juan, the capital municipality ...

and Cotocollao of the city of

Quito Quito (; ), officially San Francisco de Quito, is the capital city, capital and second-largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its metropolitan area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha Province, P ...

to the south, and by the rural parishes

Calacalí Calacalí is a rural parish of Quito Canton, Pichincha Province, Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pa ...

to the northwest and

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

to the east. In 2022 the body of lawyer María Belén Bernal was found ten days after she disappeared on the slopes of Casitahua.

References

{{coord, -0.0288, -78.4882, display=title Quito Canton Geography of Pichincha Province Stratovolcanoes of Ecuador Inactive volcanoes