Chimborazo Volcano

Updated: Mar 23, 2025 23:46 GMT - refresh

stratovolcano

Ecuador, -1.46°S / -78.82°W

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Summit height: 6310 m / 20,702 ft

Current status: normal or dormant (1 out of 5)

View of Chimborazo volcano from the west (Photo: P. Ramón IG/EPN)

Chimborazo volcano is Ecuador's highest active volcano and the highest in the Northern Andean Volcanic Zone. The massive, ice-capped stratovolcano lies at the southwest end of the main Ecuadorian volcanic arc, the so-called "Avenida de los Volcanes" ("Avenue of Volcanoes") and is located ca. 150 km SSW of Quito and 28 km NW of the town of Riobamba.

Chimborazo had been thought to be extinct, but new studies have shown that it still is an active volcano. Although there are no historical eruptions,
Chimborazo erupted at least 7 times during the past 10,000 years. These eruptions produced pyroclastic surges that reached down to 3800 m elevation. The average time interval between single eruptions is about 1000 years and the last eruption occurred about 1400 years ago, which means that statistically, it is due for another one.

Due to its great height and its geologic history of explosive eruptions, and closeness to populated areas in Ambato and Riobamba basins, it should be considered a dangerous volcano.

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News/Updates | Earthquakes

Typical eruption style: explosive
Chimborazo volcano eruptions: 640 AD ± 500, 200 AD ± 40, 3360 BC ± 40 (radiocarbon dated)

Latest nearby earthquakes

Date and Time	Mag / Depth	Distance / Location

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Background

The dominantly andesitic-to-dacitic Chimborazo volcano is mostly of Pliocene-to-Pleistocene age. The volcano collapsed about 35,000 years ago, producing a major debris avalanche, whose deposits underlie Riobamba and temporarily dammed the Río Chambo, producing an ephemeral lake.
Subsequent eruptions have been dominantly andesitic and constructed three edifices along an east-west line, the youngest and westernmost of which forms the current summit of Chimborazo.

Chimborazo sector collapse and debris avalanche
The debris avalanche deposit has not been directly dated, but a pyroclastic flow directly overlying the deposit has been dated at over 35,000 years, meaning that the collapse occured not too long before the eruption that produced the pyroclastic flow. The debris avalanche deposit has an average thickness of 40 m, covers an area of 280 sq km, and has a volume of > 11 cubic km.
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Sources:
- Smithsonian / GVP volcano information)
- Alcaraz et al (2005) "The debris avalanche of Chimborazo, Ecuador", 6th International Symposium on Andean Geodynamics (ISAG 2005, Barcelona), Extended Abstracts: 29-32

Climbing Chimborazo
Chimborazo is a popular and challenging climb. The normal route up the mountain takes 10 hours to the summit and 4 hours to return.

Interesting fact: Chimborazo's distance from the earths center
Chimborazo's summit is the farthest point of the earth's surface from the center of the earth. Due to the centrifugal forces of its rotation, the earth's shape deviates from a perfect shpere and has a larger diameter at the equator than the length of its N-S axis. The distance of Chimborazo's summit from the center is 6,384.4 km, 2229 m more than the distance of Mt Everest's top to the center. (Source: Wikipedia)

Significant volcanic eruptions: Chimborazo volcano

No historic eruptions are known from Chimborazo volcano, but evidence from at least 6 eruptions during the past 10,000 years can be found in the geological record.

The table below lists all known eruptions (date in bold face) of Chimborazo volcano in historic times and during the past 10,000 years. Updates on the most recent volcanic activity of Chimborazo can be found on the news page of Chimborazo volcano.

Date	Note	VEI	Deaths	Damage
550 ±150 y. AD		?
270 ±150 y. AD		?
2500 ±1500 y. BC		?
4130 ±150 y. BC		?
5410 ±75 y. BC		?
7500 ±2500 y. BC		?

Remark:

Our list of volcanic eruptions closely follows the database of eruptions of the Smithsonian's Global Volcanism Project (GVP), the internationally most recognized data source for volcanic eruptions, but also includes significant eruptive episodes or related volcano events. "Volcanic eruptions" are usually to be understood as sequences of individual eruptive episodes that can follow each other, or even overlap (if several vents are involved), and can last many years, decades or even longer. For example, the current activity of Stromboli volcano is understood as a single eruption that has been ongoing since 1934.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), Global Significant Volcanic Eruptions Database. doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K | Global Volcanism Project / Smithsonian Institution

Chimborazo Volcano FAQ

+When was the last eruption of Chimborazo volcano?

The last confirmed eruption of Chimborazo occurred around 550 AD.

Latest satellite images

See also: Sentinel hub | Landsat 8 | NASA FIRMS

Latest satellite images

Chimborazo Volcano Maps

Below is a selection of maps showing the location and surroundings of the volcano at various resolutions based on aerial-imagery / terrain maps. Feel free to use them for non-commercial purposes on your blog or website as long as you credit them with a link back to this page (click to copy it).