User:Jafaulk/sandbox

Chimbazaro is an ice capped inactive volcano in Ecuador. Chimbarazo is actually a double volcano that is comprised of two older volcano stratums. Chimbarazo shows four summits; Veintemilla, Whymper, Politecnica, and Nicolas Martínez. The Veintemilla peak is 6267 meters high. The Whymper peak is the highest point on the mountain at 6310 meters. The Politecnica peak is 5,820 meters high. The last peak, Nicolas Martínez, is 5,570 meters high. This peak was named after the father of Ecuadorian mountaineering The volcano is categorized as a stratovolcano. This type of volcano is characterized as having low slopes at the bottom that gradually get steeper the higher up the mountain. Chimbarazo has a circumference of 78 miles and a diameter of 30 miles. Chimbarazo's upper elevations are covered in glaciars 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 in craters. The volcano is dominantly andesitic to dactic. This means the lava is blocky, or flowing down the sides of the volcano, or somewhere in between. The highest point on Chimbarazo is the farthest point from the center of the earth, thus it is also the closest point to the sun. Chimbarazo is the farthest point from the center of the earth due to the fact that the earth bulges out at the equator and Chimbarazo is located just one degree south of the equator. Mount Everest is located 28 north of the equator. This is why Chimbarazo is 2.1 kilometers farther from the earths center than everest. Chimbarazo is 241 feet higher than the highest mountain in North America. Chimbarazo is often associated with nearby volcano, Cotopaxi even though the two volcanos have completely different structures.

Location
Chimbarazo is located at the main end of the Ecuadorian Volcanic Arc. Chimbarazo is located north west of the town of Riomba. Chimbarazo is located in the Avenido de los Volcanes, or the Avenue of Volcanoes. Chimbarazo is located west of the Sanancajas mountain chain. Carihuairazo, Tungurahua, Tulabug, and El Altar are all mountains that neighbor Chimbarazo. The closest mountain peak, Carihuairazo, is 5.8 miles from Chimbarazo. There are a lot of different microclimates near Chimbarazo. These climates vary from desert in the Arenal to the humid mountains in the Abraspungo valley.

History
Chimbarazo experienced a collapse approximately 35,000 years ago. This collapse caused a debris avalanche that temporarily dammed the Rio Chambe. The debris avalanche had an average thickness of forty meters. As a result of the Rio Chambe, an ephemeral lake was produced. The eruptions after this collapse were primarily andesitic, or blocky, coagulated lava flow. These eruptions produce pyroclastic surges that went down as far as 3800 meters. There has been at least 7 eruptions in the past 10000 years. Although Chimbarazo is officially considered inactive, studies show that there might be an eruption in the future. The average time between eruptions, for Chimbarazo, is 1000 years. The last eruption was 1400 years ago, so statistically Chimbarazo should erupt fairly soon. For this reason Chimbarazo should still be viewed as dangerous. For a long time Chimbarazo was regarded as the highest mountain in the world, before the discovery of the Himalayas. The false thought that Chimbarazo was the highest mountain in the world drove many explorers to Chimbarazo. The Volcano was explored by French academicians in 1746. This explorers were on a quest to prove that the earth was not round. They could not reach the summit of Chimbarazo. Later Bouger and La Condamine proved the earth was not round. Years after the French explorers, Alexander Von Humbolt also attempted to reach the summit of Chimbarazo. He did not make it to the peak either. After many more failed attempts to reach the summit, English climber Edward Whymper and his italian guides, Louis Carrel and Jean Antoine Carrel, reached the summit of Chimbarazo. Whymper reached the summin on January 4,1886. The route that Whymper took up Chimbarazo is now known as the Whymper route. Edward Whymper, Louis Carrel ,and Jean-Antoine Carrel were the first Europeans to summit a mountain higher than 20,000 feet. Edward Whympers ascent was disputes so he returned the same year with David Beltran and Francisco Javier Campaña.

Climbing
El Castillo is the most popular route up the volcano, Chimbarazo. This route is usually climbed December to February and June to September. This route involves climbing the west side of the volcano. This route starts at Whymper hut to a saddle above El Castillo. From the saddle, there is a glacier ridge then you 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 Chimbarazo is dangerous due to risk of avalanches, the severe weather conditions, and the fact that it is covered in glaciers. Climbing should began at night so you reach the summit before sunrise when the snow melts increasing the chance of avalanche and rockfall increases. The climb itself demands skill. The climb is often on black ice in which crampons and other high tech climbing equipment is 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 climber. These climbers included; six French, two Ecuadorans, one Swiss, and one Chilean into a crevasse at 18,700 feet. After the ten climbers were buried in snow, it took twenty people and ten days to find their bodies. This is considered the worst climbing accident in Ecuador to date.