Volcano in Ecuador can trigger avalanches that travel 60 kilometres

By Michael Marshall

An active volcano in Ecuador has collapsed twice in the past 250,000 years, causing vast debris avalanches that reached over 60 kilometres away. It could happen again, but it isn’t possible to predict when – although there is no reason to think it is imminent.

Sangay is Ecuador’s most active volcano. It lies on the eastern edge of the Andes mountains, overlooking the western edge of the Amazon rainforest.

“It’s a volcano that’s in the jungle,” says Viviana Valverde of the Geophysical Institute in Quito, Ecuador. As a result of its remote location, …