Chimborazo (Spanish:[tʃimboˈɾaso]ⓘ) is astratovolcano inEcuador and theCordillera Occidental range of theAndes. Its last knowneruption is believed to have occurred around AD 550.[4] Although not the tallest mountain in the Andes or on Earth relative tosea level, its summit is the farthest point on Earth's surface from the Earth's center due to its location along the planet'sequatorial bulge.[5] Chimborazo's height from sea level is 6,263 m (20,548 ft), well below that ofMount Everest at 8,849 m (29,031 ft).
Chimborazo is the highest mountain inEcuador and the 39th-highest peak in the entire Andes. It is a popular destination formountaineering due to its challenging climbing routes, which involve traversing snow, ice, and rocky terrain.
Several theories regarding the origin of the name Chimborazo exist. In many dialects ofQuechua, "chimba" means "on the other side" as in "on the other side of the river" or "on the opposite bank". Other dialects pronounce this word "chimpa". Also, "razu" means "ice" or "snow". Local Quichua speakers say that Chimborazo is a Hispanicized pronunciation of "chimbarazu", meaning "the snow on the other side".[6] Another theory suggests it is a combination of the CayapaSchingbu forWomen and the Colorado/QuichuaRazo forIce/Snow resulting inWomen of Ice. According to another,Chimbo isShuar forThrone of Master/God resulting inIcethrone of God. The locals also used to call the mountainUrcurazu, with the QuichuaUrcu forMountain resulting inMountain of Ice.[7] In local indigenous mysticism, Chimborazo representsTaita (Father) whereas neighbouringTungurahua is seen asMama, andGuagua (Child) forPichincha henceTaita Chimborazo, Mama Tungurahua and Guagua Pichincha.
Chimborazo is in theChimborazo Province of Ecuador, 150 km (93 mi) south-southwest of the city ofQuito, Ecuador. It is a neighbor to 5,018 m (16,463 ft) highCarihuairazo, another inactive stratovolcano. Chimborazo's summit rises 2,500 m (8,202 ft) above the surrounding highlands (~3,500 to 4,000 m (11,483 to 13,123 ft)) with a ≈20 km (12 mi) wide base.
Under clear conditions, the summit of Chimborazo can be seen from the coastal cityGuayaquil, nearly 140 km (87 mi) away. The nearest cities areRiobamba (~30 km to the southeast),Ambato (~30 km to the northeast) andGuaranda (~25 km to the southwest). Chimborazo is surrounded by theReserva de Producción Faunistica Chimborazo, which forms a protected ecosystem to preserve the habitat for the Andes nativecamelids ofvicuña,llama andalpaca.
Chimborazo is at the main end of the Ecuadorian Volcanic Arc, northwest of the town ofRiobamba. Chimborazo is in la Avenida de los Volcanes (the Avenue of Volcanoes) west of the Sanancajas mountain chain.Carihuairazo,Tungurahua,Tulabug, andEl Altar are all mountains that neighbor Chimborazo. The closest mountain peak, Carihuairazo, is 5.8 mi (9.3 km) from Chimborazo.[citation needed] There are many microclimates near Chimborazo, varying from desert in the Arenal to the humid mountains in the Abraspungo valley.[8]
Aerial view of Chimborazo's glacier-covered summits casting a shadow over the Gran Arenal, the alpine desert to Chimborazo's west.
The top of Chimborazo is completely covered byglaciers, with some northeastern glacier arms flowing down to 4,600 m. Its glacier is the source of water for the population of theBolivar andChimborazo provinces of Ecuador. Chimborazo glacier's ice mass hasdecreased over the past decades, which is thought to be in large part due toclimate change, as well as ash cover from recent volcanic activity[note 2] atTungurahua, and theEl Niño phenomenon.[10][11]
As on other glaciated Ecuadorian mountains, Chimborazo's glacial ice is mined by locals (the so-calledHieleros from SpanishHielo for Ice) to be sold in the markets ofGuaranda andRiobamba. In earlier days, the people transported ice for cooling uses down to coastal towns such asBabahoyo orVinces.[12]
With an elevation of 6,263 m (20,548 ft),[note 1] Chimborazo is the highest mountain in Ecuador and the Andes north of Peru; it is higher than any more northerly summit in the Americas.
WhileEverest is Earth's highest elevation (green) andMauna Kea is tallest from its base (orange),Cayambe is farthest from Earth's axis (pink) andChimborazo is farthest from Earth's centre (blue). Not to scale
As a result of the oblate spheroid shape of the planet Earth, which is thicker at theEquator than it is from pole to pole, the summit of Chimborazo is the fixed point on Earth that has the utmost distance from the center.[note 4] Chimborazo is one degree south of the Equator and theEarth'sdiameter at the Equator is greater than at the latitude of Everest (8,848 m (29,029 ft) above sea level), nearly 28° north, with sea level also elevated. Despite being 2,585 m (8,481 ft) lower in elevation above sea level, it is 6,384.4 km (3,967.1 mi) from the Earth's center, 2.1 km (1.3 mi) farther than the summit of Everest (6,382.3 km (3,965.8 mi) from the Earth's center).[note 5] However, by height above sea level, Chimborazo is not the highest peak of theAndes.
Centrifugal force from the Earth's rotation, and distance from the center of the Earth, cause the force ofgravity to be slightly reduced near the equator. The summit of Chimborazo has about one percent less gravity than the point with the highest gravitational force. Yet, due to its height above the surrounding terrain and localgravity anomalies, the summit of Huascarán is the place on Earth with the smallest gravitational force.[16]
Chimborazo is an ice-capped inactive volcano. It is a double volcano composed of one volcanic edifice on top of another.[17] Chimborazo shows four summits; Whymper, Veintimilla, Politecnica, and Nicolas Martínez. The Whymper peak is the highest point on the mountain at 6,263 meters. The Veintimilla peak is about 6,234 m (20,453 ft) high. The Politecnica peak is 5,820 m (19,094 ft) high. The last peak, Nicolas Martínez, is 5,570 m (18,274 ft) high and was named after the father of Ecuadorian mountaineering. The volcano is categorized as astratovolcano.[17] This type of volcano is characterized as having low slopes at the bottom that gradually get steeper the higher up the mountain.[18] Chimborazo has a circumference of 78 miles (126 km) and a diameter of 30 miles (48 km). Chimborazo's upper elevations are covered in glaciers that are decreasing in size due to climate change and falling ash from the nearby volcano,Tungurahua. In addition to the glaciers, the volcano is covered with craters. The volcano is dominantlyandesitic todacitic. This means that the lava is blocky, or flowing down the sides of the volcano, or somewhere in between.[19]
Chimborazo is 73.5 meters higher than the highest mountain in North America. Chimborazo is often associated with the nearby volcanoCotopaxi, although the two volcanoes have completely different structures.
Chimborazo then erupted several times during theHolocene, the last time around 550 AD ± 150 years.[4] The eruptions after the collapse were primarilyandesitic, or blocky, coagulated lava flow. These eruptions producedpyroclastic surges that went down as far as 3800 meters altitude.[17]
Until the beginning of the 19th century, it was thought that Chimborazo was thehighest mountain on Earth (measured from sea level), and such reputation led to many attempts on its summit during the 17th and 18th centuries.
In 1746, the volcano was explored by Frenchacademicians from theFrench Geodesic Mission. Their mission was to determine the sphericity of the Earth. Their work along with another team inLapland established that the Earth was anoblate spheroid rather than a true sphere. They did not reach the summit of Chimborazo.
In June 1802, during his expedition toSouth America, the Prussian-born travelerAlexander von Humboldt, accompanied by the French botanistAimé Bonpland and the EcuadorianCarlos Montúfar, tried to reach the summit.[20] From his description of the mountain, it seems that before he and his companions had to return suffering fromaltitude sickness they reached a point at 5,875 m, higher than previously attained by any European in recorded history (Incans had reached much higher altitudes previously; seeLlullaillaco). In 1831,Jean-Baptiste Boussingault and Colonel Hall reached a new "highest point", estimated to be 6,006 m.[21][22] Other failed attempts to reach the summit followed.
On 4 January 1880, the English climberEdward Whymper reached the summit of Chimborazo.[23] The route that Whymper took up the mountain is now known as the Whymper route. As there were many critics who doubted that Whymper had reached the summit, later in the same year he climbed to the summit again, choosing a different route (Pogyos) with the Ecuadorians David Beltrán and Francisco Campaña.[24]
In August 1976,SAETA Flight 232 carrying 55 passengers and four crew members aboard aVickers Viscount from Quito to Cuenca disappeared en route. In February 2003, after almost 27 years,[25] the aircraft was found with the bodies of its 59 occupants at an elevation of 5,310 meters (17,420 ft) on Chimborazo by Ecuadorian climbers, on the rarely used eastern routeIntegral.[26]
Sketch of Chimborazo huts, main summits, and routes
As Ecuador's highest mountain, Chimborazo is a very popular climb and can be climbed year-round with the best seasons being December–January and July–August.
The easiest (IFAS Grade:PD) and most climbed routes are the Normal and the Whymper routes. Both are western ridge routes starting at the Whymper hut and leading via the Ventemilla summit to the main (Whymper) summit.There are several other less used and more challenging routes on the mountain's other faces and ridges leading to one of Chimborazo's summits: Main (Whymper, Ecuador), Politecnico (Central), N. Martinez (Eastern). The mountain is contained on the IGM (Instituto Geografico Militar) 1:50000 MapChimborazo (CT-ÑIV-C1).[2]
There are two functioning huts, the Carrel Hut (4,850 m) and the nearby Whymper Hut (5,000 m). The Carrel Hut can be reached by car from Riobamba, Ambato or Guaranda. On the northwest side there is the now defunct Zurita hut (4,900 m), which served as base for the Pogyos route.[7]
El Castillo is the most popular route up the volcano. This route is usually climbed from December to February and June to September. This route involves climbing the west side of the volcano. The route starts at Whymper hut to a saddle above El Castillo. From the saddle, there is a glacier ridge. Then climbers go to the Veintemilla summit. Veintemilla summit is often the turnaround point for climbers. There is a 30-minute snow-filled basin between Veintemilla summit and Whymper summit. Whymper summit is the highest point of the mountain. The El Castillo route takes around eight to twelve hours to ascend and about three to five hours to descend. Climbing Chimborazo is dangerous due to the risk ofavalanches, the severe weather conditions, and the fact that it is covered in glaciers. Climbing begins at night in order to reach the summit before sunrise when the snow melts, which increases the chance of avalanche and rockfall.
The climb itself demands skill. The climb is often on black ice, so crampons and other technical climbing equipment are required. On November 10, 1993 three parties of climbers, one ascending and two descending, were caught in an avalanche on the steep slopes below the Veintimilla summit. This avalanche buried ten climbers in acrevasse at 18,700 feet (5,700 m). These climbers comprised six French, two Ecuadorians, one Swiss, and one Chilean. After the ten climbers were buried in snow, it took twenty people and ten days to find their bodies. This was considered the worst climbing accident in Ecuador.[27][28] Nearly thirty years later, a similar accident occurred on October 24, 2021. An avalanche swept 16 climbers at 6,100m (20,000ft), killing six.[29][30]
Chimborazo is featured on theEcuadorian coat of arms, to represent the beauty and richness of the Ecuadorian Sierra (Highlands).
Simón Bolívar's poem, "Mi delirio sobre el Chimborazo", was inspired by the mountain.
In his central essay "The Poet",Ralph Waldo Emerson uses the Chimborazo as metaphor for the poet (and the creative genius in general), who "must stand out of our low limitations".
Walter J. Turner's poem "Romance" contains the couplet "Chimborazo, Cotopaxi/They had stolen my soul away!"[31]
American Dad! season 21, episode four is centered around the family's trip to Ecuador to climb Mount Chimborazo afterStan cannot afford to take them toMount Everest. Chimborazo's summit height due to theequatorial bulge is mentioned frequently throughout the episode.[34]
Rafael Salas “Vista del Chimborazo” 1870-1880. Oil paintings.
^abThe elevation given here was established by aGPS survey in February 2016. The survey was carried out by a team from theFrench Research Institute for Development, working in cooperation with theEcuadorian Military Geographic Institute.[13]
^Tungurahua's recent activity period started in 1999 with the most significant eruptions between October and December 1999 and May and July 2006.[9]
^ Resolving this issue definitively has been problematic due to summit of Chimborazo is the fixed point on Earth that has the utmost distance from the center. error margins in both summit elevations andgeoid data. Application of the formula atEarth radius#Radius at a given geodetic latitude shows that the Earth's radius is 520 metres (1,710 ft) greater at Chimborazo than at Huascaran, with most recent data showing another 5 metres (16 ft) due to local variations in gravity, for a total of 525 metres (1,722 ft). Two heights are given for Huascarán - 6,746 m (22,133 ft) from the Peruvian National Geographic Institute (IGN) map, and 6,768 m (22,205 ft) from theAustrian Alpine Club (OeAV) survey map. Chimbaro is now 6,263 m (20,548 ft). Thus Chimborazo's summit is roughly either 20 metres (66 ft) or 40 metres (130 ft) further from the Earth's center than that of Huascaran.
^In this ranking, several other Andean peaks as well as Africa's highest mountain,Kilimanjaro, exceed Everest.
^abcdAlcaraz et al. (2005) "The debris avalanche of Chimborazo, Ecuador", 6th International Symposium on Andean Geodynamics (ISAG 2005, Barcelona), Extended Abstracts: 29-32
^Marsh, Edward Howard, Sir (1917).Georgian Poetry, 1916–1917. The Poetry Bookshop. Retrieved2008-06-23.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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