Overview
Reventador is an active stratovolcano which lies in the eastern Andes of Ecuador. It lies in a remote area of the national park of the same name, which is Spanish for "exploder".
Description
Reventador had a major eruption on 3 November 2002, when it produced a 17-km-high eruption column, pyroclastic flows that traveled distances of up to 8 km, as well as lava flows from summit and flank vents.Reventador volcano belongs to a chain of volcanoes in the Cordillera Real, well east of the principal volcanic axis. The volcano is densely covered by forests and rises above the remote jungles of the western Amazon basin. The volcano has a 4-km-wide caldera that is widely breached to the east, which formed by collapse of the volcanic edifice. It is partially was formed by edifice collapse and is partially filled by a young, unvegetated stratovolcano rising about 1300 m above the caldera floor to a height above the caldera rim.
During historical times, Reventador has produced numerous lava flows and explosive eruptions that could even be seen from Quito. Rainfalls frequently produce mud-flows (lahars) that have accumulated a large debris plain on the eastern floor of the caldera.