Quito Cityscape and Volcano Webcam

There is one unfathomable doing of mankind that belies logic and defies explanation. The same phenomena occurs worldwide, from Italy to Japan and even in the Canary Islands, and while the danger is apparent and often has devastating consequences, both historically and in present times, mankind still keeps doing it. What do they do? They build towns and cities near active volcanoes.

Quito, the capital of Ecuador, lies in the shadow of not one, but two stratovolcanoes. Those volcanoes are Antisana and Cotopaxi. While just the name of Antisana itself- which roughly translated from Spanish to English means not healthy – hasn’t erupted with any significance since the early 1800s, Cotopaxi has more recently been making its presence known. For the last two years or so Cotopaxi has been sending out warnings that it’s considering blowing its lid in a big way once more.

Hopefully Cotopaxi will calm down and the inhabitants of Quito won’t need to consider evacuating as they had to back in 2015 when ash clouds polluted the air. In the meantime, enjoy the tranquil views of Quito, a city built on the remains of an ancient Incan urbanisation. In this modern age, we know that the only thing that’s going to appear from an erupting volcano is ash and lava and not Illapa, the Incan god of thunder. After all, mankind doesn’t need a repetition of Pompeii. Once was more than enough.