Your trip to Quito would remain incomplete if you do not visit the Cotopaxi Volcano, Quito. The Cotopaxi Volcano, Quito rises at 5897 meters above sea level. This majestic mountain is Ecuador's highest active volcano and is one of the most active volcanoes in Ecuador. The most significant feature of the Cotopaxi Volcano, Quito is that it has an almost perfectly symmetrical cone shape. There are lots of glaciers in the mountain but these have not been able to change the shape much because of their recent origin.
Cotopaxi Volcano, Quito is also the symbol of the country of Ecuador. The name of the volcano has various interesting origins. According to one old indigenous language, the name of the volcano means 'Sweet Sun Neck'. In another old language, the meaning of the volcano is 'fire throat'. The crater of the volcano is oval with a diameter of 800x600 meter and a depth of 200 meter. This volcano originated in the middle of the Pleistocene Age.
A little south of the Cotopaxi, there is a small hill known by the name Morurco or Guagua. It is the remnant of the old Cotopaxi volcano. At one point of time, this older part of the Cotopaxi Volcano was much more explosive than the present one.
Cotopaxi Volcano, in Quito which you can now see today assumed this present cone shape due to its volcanic activity from the end of the Pleistocene until the present time. The inclination of the slope of the present Cotopaxi Volcano, Quito is 30º approximately and the diameter of the base of the volcano is 15 kilometers.
For the past 500 years, there have been numerous eruptions of the Cotopaxi Volcano. The last important eruption was in the year 1906. The other eruptions which took place in the years 1944 and 1975 respectively were of lesser importance.
This volcano of Quito was first ascended by the German mountaineer Wilhelm Reiss and Colombian climber Angel M. Field. They went atop by climbing up the southern slope of the mountain. In the year 1877 there was a major explosion and the northern slope of the mountain became quite accessible due to the deposition of ice and mud and therefore later on the other mountaineers chose this route for accessing the mountain.
| Tourist Attractions in Quito |
| Alameda Park, Quito |
Alberto Mena Caamano Museum, Quito |
| Capilla del Hombre (Chapel of Mankind), Quito La Plaza de la Independencia, Quito |
Casa de la Cultura, Quito |
| Convent of San Diego, Quito |
Cotopaxi Volcano, Quito |
| El Centro Cultural Metropolitano, Quito |
El Sagrario Church, Quito |
| Eloy Alfaro Military School Museum, Quito |
Fundacion Guayasamin, Quito |
| Guapulo Church, Quito |
Guayllabamba Zoo, Quito |
| Half of the World, Quito |
House of Benalcazar Museum, Quito |
| House of Sucre Museum, Quito |
Jacinto Jijon y Caamano Museum, Quito |
| La Carolina Park, Quito |
La Catedral church, Quito |
| La Merced Church, Quito |
Museo de la ciudad, Quito |
| San Agustin Church, Quito |
San Francisco Church, Quito |
| San Francisco Museum, Quito |
Santo Domingo Church, Quito |
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