April 6, 2011
Now I’m in another new country, Ecuador. To be exact, I’m in Quito, the capital of Ecuador. It is located at 0° 13’ S and 78° 32’ W. It is the capital in the world that is closest to the equator.
Quito is also very close to the Andes. It is surrounded by many volcanoes that were created in the same way as the ones around La Paz. The volcano closest to Quito is Pichincha Volcano. Its most recent eruption was in August of 2003. It also erupted several times in the 19th century, although its largest eruption was in 1660, when it coated nearby Quito with about 10 inches of ash. Another large active volcano near Quito is Reventador. Since 1541 it has erupted more than 25 times, with the largest explosion in 2002, and the most recent one in 2009.
Today I went to visit Reventador, about 95 kilometers northeast of Quito. Here is a picture of it.
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| Reventador: |
Ecuador also has a bit of a history of earthquakes. The most recent one was a 6.8 earthquake in 2007, but others include a 7.2 in 1998 and another 6.8 in 1949. The largest was an 8.8 in 1906.
After coming back from my Reventador excursion today I went to the Mare Nostrum restaurant, where I enjoyed a rice dish with many different seafood components. After that exciting day, I retired to my hotel room, where I am now. I can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings!
J
Cool pictures! Sounds like an interesting trip, I like the details on the big volcano eruptions. :)
ReplyDeleteWow sounds like an awesome trip and the detail is great :) <3
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