Chimborazo (volcano)

Chimborazo () is a currently inactive stratovolcano in the Cordillera Occidental range of the Andes. Its last known eruption is believed to have occurred around 550 A.D.

Chimborazo's summit is the farthest point on the Earth's surface from the Earth's center, given that it is located along the planet's equatorial bulge. This is despite not being the tallest mountain in the Andes or on Earth. Based on the average global sea level, the height of Chimborazo is 6,263 m (20,548 ft), well below the height of Mount Everest (8849 metres). Nevertheless, Chimborazo is the highest mountain in Ecuador and the 39th highest peak in the Andes.

Chimborazo is a popular destination for mountaineering as its climbing routes are considered challenging and take place on snow, ice, and rock, often requiring crampons and other technical climbing equipment.

Etymology

Several theories regarding the origin of the name Chimborazo exist. In many dialects of Quichua or Quechua, "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 will say that Chimborazo is a Hispanicized pronunciation of "chimbarazu," meaning "the snow on the other side." Another theory suggests it is a combination of the Cayapa ''Schingbu'' for ''Women'' and the Colorado/ Quichua ''Razo'' for ''Ice/Snow'' resulting in ''Women of Ice''. According to another, ''Chimbo'' is Jívaro for ''Throne of Master/God'' resulting in ''Icethrone of God''. The locals also used to call the mountain ''Urcurazu'', with the Quichua ''Urcu'' for ''Mountain'' resulting in ''Mountain of Ice''. In local indigenous mysticism, Chimborazo represents ''Taita'' (Father) whereas neighbouring Tungurahua is seen as ''Mama'', and ''Guagua'' (Child) for Pichincha hence ''Taita Chimborazo, Mama Tungurahua and Guagua Pichincha''.

Geography

Location

Chimborazo is in the Chimborazo Province of Ecuador, south-southwest of the city of Quito, Ecuador. It is a neighbor to high Carihuairazo. Chimborazo's summit rises above the surrounding highlands (~) with a ≈ wide base.

Under clear conditions, the summit of Chimborazo can be seen from the coastal city Guayaquil, nearly away. The nearest cities are Riobamba (~30 km to the southeast), Ambato (~30 km to the northeast) and Guaranda (~25 km to the southwest). Chimborazo is surrounded by the ''Reserva de Producción Faunistica Chimborazo'', which forms a protected ecosystem to preserve the habitat for the Andes native camelids of vicuña, llama and alpaca.

Chimborazo is at the main end of the Ecuadorian Volcanic Arc, north west of the town of Riobamba. Chimborazo is in la Avenida de los Volcanes (the Avenue of Volcanoes) west of the Sanancajas mountain chain. Carihuairazo, Tungurahua, Tulabug, and El Altar are all mountains that neighbor Chimborazo. The closest mountain peak, Carihuairazo, is from Chimborazo. There are many microclimates near Chimborazo, varying from desert in the Arenal to the humid mountains in the Abraspungo valley.

Glaciers

The top of Chimborazo is completely covered by glaciers, with some north-eastern glacier arms flowing down to 4,600 m. Its glacier is the source of water for the population of the Bolivar and Chimborazo provinces of Ecuador. Chimborazo glacier's ice mass has decreased over the past decades, which is thought to be in large part due to climate change, as well as ash cover from recent volcanic activity at Tungurahua, and the El Niño phenomenon.

As on other glaciated Ecuadorian mountains, Chimborazo's glacial ice is mined by locals (the so-called ''Hieleros'' from Spanish ''Hielo'' for Ice) to be sold in the markets of Guaranda and Riobamba. In earlier days, the people transported ice for cooling uses down to coastal towns such as Babahoyo or Vinces.

Elevation

With an elevation of , Chimborazo is the highest mountain in Ecuador and the Andes north of Peru; it is higher than any more northerly summit in the Americas.

Farthest point from Earth's center

The summit of Mount Everest is higher above sea level, but the summit of Chimborazo is widely reported to be the farthest point on the surface from Earth's center,A diagram that compares the height of Chimborazo and Mount Everest could be found in with Huascarán a very close second.

The summit of Chimborazo is the fixed point on Earth that has the utmost distance from the center – because of the oblate spheroid shape of the planet Earth, which is thicker at the Equator than it is from pole to pole.It has been difficult to resolve this issue definitively because of error margins in summit elevations and geoid data. Application of the formula at Earth radius#Radius at a given geodetic latitude shows that the Earth's radius is greater at Chimborazo than at Huascaran, with most recent data showing another due to local variations in gravity, for a total of . Two heights are given for Huascarán - from the Peruvian National Geographic Institute (IGN) map, and from the Austrian Alpine Club (OeAV) survey map. Chimbaro is now . Thus Chimborazo's summit is roughly either or further from the Earth's center than that of Huascaran. Chimborazo is one degree south of the Equator and the Earth's diameter at the Equator is greater than at the latitude of Everest ( above sea level), nearly 27.6° north, with sea level also elevated. Despite being lower in elevation above sea level, it is from the Earth's center, farther than the summit of Everest ( from the Earth's center).In this ranking, several other Andean peaks as well as Africa's highest mountain, Kilimanjaro, exceed Everest. However, by height above sea level, Chimborazo is not the highest peak of the Andes.

Centrifugal force from the earth's rotation, and distance from the center of the earth, cause the force of gravity 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 local gravity anomalies