Tungurahua
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Tungurahua (Template:IPAc-en; from Quichua tunguri (throat) and rahua (fire), "Throat of Fire")<ref name=BBC2006sep07>Template:Cite news)</ref> is an active stratovolcano located in the Cordillera Oriental of Ecuador. The volcano gives its name to the province of Tungurahua. Volcanic activity restarted on August 19, 1999,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and is ongoing Template:As of, with several eruptive episodes since then, the most recent lasting from February 26 to March 16, 2016.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Etymology
According to one theory the name Tungurahua is a combination of the Quichua tunguri (throat) and rahua (fire) meaning "Throat of Fire".<ref name=BBC2006sep07/> According to another theory it is based on the Quichua uraua for crater.<ref name=Schmudlach01/> Tungurahua is also known as "The Black Giant" (Gigante Negro in spanish),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and in local indigenous mythology it is referred to as Mama Tungurahua ("Mother Tungurahua").<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Geography and geology
Template:More citations needed section Template:Volcanoes in Ecuador
Location
Tungurahua Template:Convert is located in the Cordillera Oriental of the Andes of central Ecuador, Template:Convert south of the capital Quito. Nearby notable mountains are Chimborazo (Template:Convert) and El Altar (Template:Convert). It rises above the small thermal springs town of Baños de Agua Santa (Template:Convert) which is located at its foot Template:Convert to the north. Other nearby towns are Ambato (Template:Convert to the northwest) and Riobamba (Template:Convert to the southwest). Tungurahua is part of the Sangay National Park.
Glacier
With its elevation of Template:Convert, Tungurahua just over tops the snow line (about Template:Convert). Tungurahua's top is snow-covered and did feature a small summit glacier which melted away after the increase of volcanic activity in 1999.
Volcanism
Today's volcanic edifice (Tungurahua III) is constructed inside its predecessor's (Tungurahua II) caldera which collapsed about 3000 (±90) years ago. The original edifice (Tungurahua I) collapsed at the end of the Late Pleistocene.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Historical volcanic activity
Tungurahua's eruptions are Strombolian. They produce andesite and dacite. All historical eruptions originated from the summit crater and have been accompanied by strong explosions, pyroclastic flows and sometimes lava flows. In the last 1,300 years Tungurahua entered every 80 to 100 years into an activity phase of which the major have been the ones of 1773, 1886 and 1916–1918.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Study of volcanic ash layers deposited in the lakes of El Cajas National Park show that there were major eruptions 3,034±621, 2,027±41, 1,557±177, 733±112 years ago (cal BP).<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Recent volcanic activity
In 1999, after a long period of quiescence, the volcano entered an eruptive phase that continued until 2017. The renewed activity in October 1999 produced major ashfall and led to the temporary evacuation of more than 25,000 inhabitants from Baños and the surrounding area<ref name=Nytimes99>Template:Cite news</ref> Activity continued at a medium level until May 2006, when activity increased dramatically, culminating in violent eruptions on 14 July 2006 and 16 August 2006. The 16 August 2006 eruption has been the most violent since activity commenced in 1999. This eruption was accompanied by a Template:Convert high ash plume which spread over an area of Template:Convert,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> depositing ash and tephra to the southwest of the volcano. Several pyroclastic flows were generated that killed at least five people, and destroyed a number of hamlets and roads on the eastern and northwestern slopes of the volcano.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
A further eruption and evacuation occurred on 4 December 2010. Ecuador's National Agency of Risk Control issued a "red alert", later downgraded to orange.<ref name=cnn20101204>Template:Cite news</ref> The Ecuadorean Institute for Geophysics reported a rapid increase in seismic activity, a number of explosions and an ash cloud reaching Template:Convert in height.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Another eruption occurred on 18 December 2012 forcing evacuation of those living on the volcano's slopes.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The volcano erupted again in July 2013,<ref name="July 13 eruption">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and again on 1 February 2014.
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First ascent
In June 1802, the Prussian-born explorer Alexander von Humboldt tried without success to reach the summit.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> During their seven-year-long South America expedition (1868 to 1876), the German volcanologists Alphons Stübel and Wilhelm Reiss climbed Cotopaxi (Reiss with Angel Escobar; 28 November 1872) and Tungurahua (Stübel with Eusebio Rodríguez; 9 February 1873).<ref name=Schmudlach01>Template:Cite book</ref>