The Nevado del Quindío is an inactive

volcano A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates are ...

located in the Central Cordillera of the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

in central

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

. The summit marks the

tripoint A tripoint, trijunction, triple point, or tri-border area is a geographical point at which the boundaries of three countries or subnational entities meet. There are 175 international tripoints as of 2020. Nearly half are situated in rivers, l ...

of the departments of Risaralda, Quindío and Tolima, and is also the highest point of the departments of Risaralda and Quindío. The mountain is one of the highest peaks in the

Los Nevados National Natural Park Los Nevados National Natural Park ( es, Parque Nacional Natural Los Nevados) is a national park located in the Cordillera Central (Colombia), Cordillera Central of the Colombian Andes. The park surrounds the northern volcanic complex formed by Ne ...

, which is a

wildlife sanctuary A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...

. There are no historical records of any eruption. The

andesitic Andesite () is a volcanic rock of intermediate composition. In a general sense, it is the intermediate type between silica-poor basalt and silica-rich rhyolite. It is fine-grained (aphanitic) to porphyritic in texture, and is composed predomina ...

volcano is located on top of the

Palestina Fault The Palestina Fault ( es, Falla de Palestina) is a regional sinistral oblique thrust fault in the departments of Antioquia, Caldas and Bolívar in central Colombia. The fault has a total length of and runs along an average north-northeast to so ...

.Plancha 225, 1998González, 2001 The

snow Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water throughout ...

fields and

glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its Ablation#Glaciology, ablation over many years, often Century, centuries. It acquires dis ...

s in the mountain are decreasing in a progressive way, about ten percent annually since the first scientific measures in the late 1980s, presumably because of

global warming In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

. The mountain offers beautiful landscapes, attracting touristic visits all the year. The lower part is a

cloud forest A cloud forest, also called a water forest, primas forest, or tropical montane cloud forest (TMCF), is a generally tropical or subtropical, evergreen, montane, moist forest characterized by a persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level cloud c ...

habitat, rich in

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

species. Botanist and naturalist

Alexander von Humboldt Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 17696 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, naturalist, explorer, and proponent of Romantic philosophy and science. He was the younger brother of the Prussian minister, p ...

visited the area in 1801, describing new species such as the

frailejón ''Espeletia'', commonly known as 'frailejones' ("big monks"), is a genus of perennial subshrubs, in the family Asteraceae. The genus, which is native mainly to Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador, was first formally described in 1808. The genus was n ...

In popular culture

The postal service of Colombia, AdPostal, released a postal stamp featuring the Nevado del Quindío and Von Humboldt, to celebrate the anniversary of his visit. It is a

stratovolcano A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a conical volcano built up by many layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile with a summit crater and per ...

composite volcano A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a conical volcano built up by many layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile with a summit crater and per ...

, evidenced by geological studies. A watercolor painting of the volcano by

Manuel María Paz Manuel María Paz Delgado (July 6, 1820, Almaguer, Cauca, Colombia - September 16, 1902 Bogotá) was a Colombian cartographer, military officer, artist and watercolorist. Biography Manuel María Paz Delgado was born June 6, 1820 in the town o ...

(1820–1902) is held by the

National Library of Colombia The National Library of Colombia ( es, Biblioteca Nacional de Colombia) is a national library located in Bogota, Colombia. The library is a dependency of the Colombian Ministry of Culture. Founding and history The National Library of Colombi ...

Panorama

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

*
Parque Nacional Natural los Nevados website
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nevado del Quindio Mountains of Colombia Volcanoes of Colombia Glaciers of Colombia Andean Volcanic Belt Geography of Risaralda Department Geography of Quindío Department Geography of Tolima Department Four-thousanders of the Andes

In popular culture

Panorama

See also

References

Bibliography

External links