Abstract
The volcano Cotopaxi in South America is 5,897 m high and is one of the highest active volcanoes of the world and the second highest volcano in the Andes after the Chimborazo (6,310 m). In Ecuador, there are more than 20 volcanoes contributing to the spectacular mountain range diving this country between the western and eastern lowlands. There have been more than 50 reports of volcanic activity at Cotopaxi since 1738, among which those from the years 1744, 1768, and 1877 are the largest. During the 1877 eruption, the whole summit glacier collapsed and a huge mudflow spread out for more than 100 km and flooded the city of Latacunga. Five years prior to this catastrophic event, the German geologist Wilhelm Reiss from the University of Heidelberg ascended Cotopaxi for the first time together with his supporter Angel M. Escobar from Columbia.
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Acknowledgments
We would like to thank the following libraries and archives for their substantial information and their most valuable support in researching documents: Geologenarchiv University of Freiburg, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek Munich, archive of the University Heidelberg, archive for geography in Leipzig, university library of Dresden, and library of the Deutsche Museum in Munich. Prof. Colin Devey critically read the text and improved the English wording, which is gratefully acknowledged.
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Pfaffl, F.A., Dullo, WC. The first ascent to the volcano Cotopaxi in Ecuador by Wilhelm Reiss (1838–1908). Int J Earth Sci (Geol Rundsch) 103, 1175–1179 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00531-014-1017-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00531-014-1017-6