Cayambe is the name of a volcano

Volcano

2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...

 located in the Cordillera Oriental, a branch of the Ecuador

Ecuador

Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...

ian Andes

Andes

The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...

. It is located in Pichincha

Pichincha Province

Pichincha is a province of Ecuador located in the northern sierra region; its capital and largest city is Quito. It is bordered by Imbabura & Esmeraldas to the north, Cotopaxi & Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas to the south, Napo & Sucumbíos to the east, and Esmeraldas & Santo Domingo de los...

 province some 70 km (43 mi) northeast of Quito

Quito

San Francisco de Quito, most often called Quito , is the capital city of Ecuador in northwestern South America. It is located in north-central Ecuador in the Guayllabamba river basin, on the eastern slopes of Pichincha, an active stratovolcano in the Andes mountains...

. It is the third highest mountain

Mountain

Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...

 in Ecuador.

Cayambe, which has a permanent snow cap, is a Holocene

Holocene

The Holocene is a geological epoch which began at the end of the Pleistocene and continues to the present. The Holocene is part of the Quaternary period. Its name comes from the Greek words and , meaning "entirely recent"...

 compound volcano which has not erupted in historical times. At 4,690 m (15,387 ft) on its south slope is the highest point in the world crossed by the Equator

Equator

An equator is the intersection of a sphere's surface with the plane perpendicular to the sphere's axis of rotation and containing the sphere's center of mass....

 and the only point on the Equator with snow cover. The volcano is in the Cayambe Coca Ecological Reserve

Cayambe Coca Ecological Reserve

Cayambe Coca Ecological Reserve is a nature reserve in Ecuador located along the Equator a little over 60 miles from Quito. The park encompasses an area of .-Fauna:...

.

The town of Cayambe takes its name from the volcano.

Cayambe was first scaled by British climber Edward Whymper

Edward Whymper

Edward Whymper , was an English illustrator, climber and explorer best known for the first ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865. On the descent four members of the party were killed.-Early life:...

and his two Italian guides and companions Juan Antonio and Luis Carrel in 1880, and is a favourite of mountain climbers today.

External links and references

• Cayambe, Instituto Geofísico de la Escuela Politécnica Nacional
• Cayambe: Etymology
• Photographs of the Andes
• Climbing Trip Report