Volcanoes by country

Ecuador

Volcanoes in Ecuador

Map, activity and eruption history

The Holocene catalogue of the Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program lists 36 volcanoes in Ecuador. This page brings together the map, report status, eruption history and the surroundings of every single volcano. None of them currently has a running eruption report.

Map All countries with volcanoes
Earthquakes · Ecuador
With a current report
None No current eruption report
Volcanoes in the catalogue
36
Documented eruptions
132
Highest volcano
6,261 mChimborazo
Last documented eruption
2026Sangay

Map

Volcano map of Ecuador

Every volcano in the country with plate boundaries, air traffic within 50 km, airports and nuclear power plants. Earthquakes can be added on top.

Map layers

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Markers show the catalogue position of a volcano, not the extent of a hazard zone. Plate boundaries after Bird (2003), PB2002.

All volcanoes in Ecuador

Sorted by report status and elevation. Every entry opens the full volcano profile.

Volcano catalogue
  1. Chimborazo No current eruption report
    Type
    Stratovolcano
    Elevation
    6,261 m
    Last eruption
    550
    Eruptions
    6
  2. Cotopaxi No current eruption report
    Type
    Stratovolcano
    Elevation
    5,911 m
    Last eruption
    2023
    Eruptions
    8
  3. Cayambe No current eruption report
    Type
    Compound volcano
    Elevation
    5,790 m
    Last eruption
    1786
    Eruptions
    8
  4. Antisana No current eruption report
    Type
    Stratovolcano
    Elevation
    5,753 m
    Last eruption
    1802
    Eruptions
    3
  5. Sangay No current eruption report
    Type
    Stratovolcano
    Elevation
    5,286 m
    Last eruption
    2026
    Eruptions
    8
  6. Iliniza No current eruption report
    Type
    Stratovolcano
    Elevation
    5,162 m
    Last eruption
    Not available
    Eruptions
    —
  7. Tungurahua No current eruption report
    Type
    Stratovolcano
    Elevation
    5,023 m
    Last eruption
    2016
    Eruptions
    8
  8. Guagua Pichincha No current eruption report
    Type
    Stratovolcano
    Elevation
    4,784 m
    Last eruption
    2002
    Eruptions
    8
  9. Chiles-Cerro Negro No current eruption report
    Type
    Stratovolcano
    Elevation
    4,698 m
    Last eruption
    1936
    Eruptions
    1
  10. Chacana No current eruption report
    Type
    Caldera
    Elevation
    4,643 m
    Last eruption
    1773
    Eruptions
    5
  11. Imbabura No current eruption report
    Type
    Compound volcano
    Elevation
    4,609 m
    Last eruption
    5550 BCE
    Eruptions
    1
  12. Atacazo No current eruption report
    Type
    Stratovolcano
    Elevation
    4,463 m
    Last eruption
    320 BCE
    Eruptions
    4
  13. Aliso No current eruption report
    Type
    Stratovolcano
    Elevation
    4,267 m
    Last eruption
    2450 BCE
    Eruptions
    1
  14. Mojanda No current eruption report
    Type
    Stratovolcano
    Elevation
    4,263 m
    Last eruption
    Not available
    Eruptions
    —
  15. Chachimbiro No current eruption report
    Type
    Stratovolcano
    Elevation
    4,106 m
    Last eruption
    3740 BCE
    Eruptions
    1
  16. Sumaco No current eruption report
    Type
    Stratovolcano
    Elevation
    3,990 m
    Last eruption
    1895
    Eruptions
    3
  17. Soche No current eruption report
    Type
    Stratovolcano
    Elevation
    3,955 m
    Last eruption
    6650 BCE
    Eruptions
    1
  18. Quilotoa No current eruption report
    Type
    Caldera
    Elevation
    3,914 m
    Last eruption
    1280
    Eruptions
    5
  19. Reventador No current eruption report
    Type
    Stratovolcano
    Elevation
    3,562 m
    Last eruption
    2026
    Eruptions
    8
  20. Pululahua No current eruption report
    Type
    Caldera
    Elevation
    3,360 m
    Last eruption
    290
    Eruptions
    4

“Last eruption” is a catalogue record, not evidence of activity in progress.

Significant volcanic eruptions in Ecuador

Eruptions with fatalities, damage or high explosivity from the NOAA NCEI database of significant volcanic eruptions.

  1. 1640 Tungurahua VEI 3 5,000 Deaths
  2. 1877 Cotopaxi VEI 4 340 Deaths
  3. 2006 Tungurahua VEI 3 6 Deaths Damage: severe (roughly 5–24 million USD)
  4. 1886 Tungurahua VEI 4 2 Deaths
  5. 2008 Tungurahua VEI 3 2 Deaths Damage: limited (below 1 million USD) 2 houses destroyed
  6. 1999 Guagua Pichincha VEI 3 2 Deaths
  7. 1976 Sangay VEI 3 2 Deaths
  8. 1993 Guagua Pichincha VEI 1 2 Deaths
  9. 2006 Tungurahua VEI 3 1 Deaths
  10. 1999 Tungurahua VEI 3 1 Deaths
  11. 1943 Azul, Cerro VEI 3 1 Deaths
  12. 1280 Quilotoa VEI 6 Damage: limited (below 1 million USD)
  13. 1010 BCE Tungurahua VEI 5 Deaths: many (roughly 101–1000)
  14. 2002 Reventador VEI 4 Deaths: few (roughly 1–50) Damage: limited (below 1 million USD)
  15. 1916 Tungurahua VEI 4
  16. 1768 Cotopaxi VEI 4 Deaths: many (roughly 101–1000) Damage: severe (roughly 5–24 million USD)
  17. 1660 Guagua Pichincha VEI 4 Damage: moderate (roughly 1–5 million USD)
  18. 455 BCE Cotopaxi VEI 4 Deaths: few (roughly 1–50)
  19. 2011 Tungurahua VEI 3 Damage: limited (below 1 million USD)
  20. 2010 Tungurahua VEI 3 Damage: limited (below 1 million USD)
  21. 2010 Tungurahua VEI 3 Damage: limited (below 1 million USD)
  22. 1742 Cotopaxi VEI 3 Deaths: many (roughly 101–1000) Damage: severe (roughly 5–24 million USD)
  23. 1742 Cotopaxi VEI 3 Deaths: many (roughly 101–1000) Damage: severe (roughly 5–24 million USD)
  24. 1698 Cotopaxi VEI 3 Deaths: some (roughly 51–100)

Explosivity of the documented eruptions

VEI · 102

VEI 0
15
VEI 1
15
VEI 2
45
VEI 3
13
VEI 4
8
VEI 5
5
VEI 6
1

The Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) runs from 0 (effusive) to 8 (super-eruptive). Each step stands for roughly ten times the erupted mass.

Eruptions per century

1500–1599
2
1600–1699
1
1700–1799
11
1800–1899
4
1900–1999
45
2000–2099
36

Documented eruptions since 1500. Earlier centuries are recorded less completely, so a rise also reflects better observation.

Earthquakes near volcanoes – Ecuador

6 events in the last 30 days within 50 km of a volcano in Ecuador.

Earthquakes · Ecuador

Spatial proximity does not establish a volcanic origin. Many events in volcanic regions are tectonic.

Tectonic setting and volcano types

What the volcanic landscape of Ecuador is made of and which tectonic setting it sits in.

Tectonic setting

  • Subduction zone / Continental crust (> 25 km)22
  • Rift zone / Oceanic crust (< 15 km)14

Most common volcano types

  • Stratovolcano15
  • Shield volcano13
  • Caldera4
  • Compound volcano2
  • Pyroclastic cone1

Infrastructure within 100 km

Airports with scheduled service and nuclear power plant sites near a volcano in Ecuador.

Airports 10

  • Seymour Galapagos Ecological Airport19.8 km · GPS
  • San Cristóbal Airport22.8 km · SCY
  • Mariscal Sucre International Airport24.3 km · UIO
  • Lieutenant Colonel Luis A. Mantilla International Airport25.6 km · TUA
  • General Villamil Airport27.2 km · IBB
  • Cotopaxi International Airport29.4 km · LTX
  • San Luis Airport30.0 km · IPI
  • Coronel E Carvajal Airport40.8 km · XMS
  • Francisco De Orellana Airport71.6 km · OCC
  • Antonio Nariño Airport96.6 km · PSO

Nuclear power plants 0

No site from the included datasets lies within this radius.

This selection shows geographic proximity, not a hazard zone or confirmed impacts.

Volcanoes in profile – Ecuador

Short descriptions of the country's best-known volcanoes.

Chimborazo

Stratovolcano · 6,261 m · Last eruption: 550

Chimborazo is a stratovolcano in Ecuador and the Cordillera Occidental range of the Andes. Its last known eruption is believed to have occurred around AD 550.

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Cotopaxi

Stratovolcano · 5,911 m · Last eruption: 2023

Cotopaxi is an active stratovolcano in the Andes Mountains, located in Cotopaxi National Park in Cotopaxi Province, about 50 km (31.1 mi) south of Quito, and 31 km (19 mi) northeast of the city of Latacunga, Ecuador. It is the second highest summit in Ecuador, reaching a height of 5,897 m (19,347 ft). Cotopaxi is among the highest active volcanoes in the world.

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Cayambe

Compound volcano · 5,790 m · Last eruption: 1786

Cayambe or Volcán Cayambe is a volcano in Ecuador, in the Cordillera Central, a range of the Ecuadorian Andes. It is located in Pichincha Province, some 70 km (43 mi) northeast of Quito. It is the third-highest mountain in Ecuador, at an elevation of 5,790 m (18,996 ft) above sea level.

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Antisana

Stratovolcano · 5,753 m · Last eruption: 1802

Antisana is a stratovolcano of the northern Andes, in Ecuador. It is the fourth highest volcano in Ecuador, at 5,753 metres (18,875 ft), and is located 50 kilometres (31 mi) SE of the capital city of Quito.

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Sangay

Stratovolcano · 5,286 m · Last eruption: 2026

Sangay is an active stratovolcano in central Ecuador. It exhibits mostly strombolian activity. Geologically, Sangay marks the southern boundary of the Northern Volcanic Zone, and its position straddling two major pieces of crust accounts for its high level of activity. Sangay's approximately 500,000-year-old history is one of instability; two previous versions of the mountain were destroyed in massive flank collapses, evidence of which still litters its surroundings today.

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Iliniza

Stratovolcano · 5,162 m · Last eruption: Not available

The Illinizas are a pair of volcanic mountains that are located in the north of Latacunga, Cotopaxi, Ecuador. They are located in the Illinizas Ecological Reserve. These twin mountains are separated by a saddle that is about a kilometer long. The peaks are among the highest in Ecuador, with Illiniza Sur standing slightly taller than Illiniza Norte, its northern counterpart, at 5248 metres and 5126 metres respectively.

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Short descriptions: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Frequently asked questions about volcanoes in Ecuador

How many volcanoes are there in Ecuador?
The Holocene catalogue of the Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program lists 36 volcanoes in Ecuador. It covers volcanoes with eruptions during the last roughly 12,000 years.
Which volcano in Ecuador is the highest?
The highest recorded volcano is Chimborazo at 6,261 m.
When was the last documented eruption in Ecuador?
The most recent eruption documented in the catalogue dates from 2026 (Sangay).
Are the volcanoes in Ecuador active?
None of the 36 volcanoes currently has an eruption report. That does not mean they are extinct – source coverage differs from volcano to volcano.
Why does the map show aircraft around volcanoes?
Volcanic ash endangers aircraft engines. The map therefore shows live positions within 50 km of a volcano so that the proximity of air traffic to an active volcano becomes visible.
Where does the data on this page come from?
Catalogue data and eruption history from the Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program, significant eruptions from NOAA NCEI, alert levels and bulletins from USGS, GeoNet and INGV, earthquakes from the QuakeMap24 database, flight positions from ADSB.lol.

Volcanoes in other countries

Countries with at least 5 volcanoes in the catalogue.

All countries with volcanoes

Sources and data dates

Everything shown comes from the public sources listed below and is updated automatically.

QuakeMap24 is not a warning authority. Follow the responsible authorities when making local decisions.