01 05 14
Cotopaxi, 19,347 feet, Ecuador’s second-tallest peak and one of the world’s highest active volcanoes, has erupted more than fifty times since 1700. Ironically, in 1534 it played peacemaker, scattering the warring Incas and Spaniards from the battlefield. Later, in 1877, pyroclastic flows descended all sides of the mountain, reaching both the Pacific Ocean and the Amazon Basin. Cotopaxi is a popular climb, but it continues to bubble just beneath the surface.
