Aliso
Northern Andean Volcanic Arc, Ecuador. This page separates the permanent volcano catalogue, historical eruption records, and selective weekly activity reports.
- Coordinates
- 0.53° S, 78.00° W
- Elevation
- 4,267 m
- Last recorded eruption
- 2451 BCE
- Historical eruption records
- 1
- Primary type
- Stratovolcano
- Evidence
- Eruption Dated
- GVP database
- 5.4.0
- Catalogue revision
- Revision 2
Volcano profile
- Volcanic landform
- Composite
- Tectonic setting
- Subduction zone / Continental crust (> 25 km)
- Geologic epoch
- Holocene
- Major rock type
- Andesite / Basaltic Andesite
- Region
- South America Volcanic Regions
- Subregion
- Northern Andean Volcanic Arc
Geological summary
The Aliso volcanic complex lies at the eastern foot of the Ecuadorian Andes, east of Antisana volcano and SW of the town of Baeza. The largely unexplored complex contains an arcuate summit ridge on the west with older andesitic lava flows and tundra-like vegetation, and rhyolitic and dacitic lava domes in a wet cloud-forest environment on the lower eastern flanks. The Pumayacu center on the SE flank contains several lava domes along a NNE axis parallel to the Andean Thrust Fault System (TFZ). Morphologically young andesitic lava flows occur along the flat-topped ridge above Baeza town. The Pumayacu center erupted pyroclastic-flow deposits of late Pleistocene and Holocene age. One pyroclastic-flow deposit was dated at about 4,400 BP, and a pumice lapilli layer overlies a ceramic-rich cultural horizon thought to be about 2,000 years old.
Separate activity dataset
Weekly volcanic activity reports
Smithsonian/USGS weekly reports are selective and preliminary. They are not a comprehensive list of all eruptions or volcanic activity.
No weekly report appears on this page. Absence from the weekly report does not establish an absence of volcanic activity.
Historical catalogue records
Eruption history
Dates can be approximate, incomplete, or BCE. These are historical catalogue observations, not a statement about present activity.
| Start | End | Activity | Confirmation | VEI | Evidence | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ? 2451 BCE | Not supplied | Confirmed EruptionPumayucu | Confirmed | Not supplied | Isotopic: 14C (uncalibrated) | GVP 11503Database 5.4.0 |
Source and attribution
Source: Data: Smithsonian Institution Global Volcanism Program, Volcanoes of the World.
View the original Smithsonian GVP recordGlobal Volcanism Program, 2026. Volcanoes of the World 5.4.0.
The GVP database is scientific documentation that changes as evidence is reviewed. Historical dates may be approximate or uncertain. This platform is not an official emergency-warning service.
Read the GVP terms of useData freshness
- Source updated
- Not supplied
- Retrieved
- 11 Oct 2026, 13:07 UTC
- GVP database version
- 5.4.0
- Catalogue revision
- 2
Source-update and retrieval times describe this catalogue record. Each weekly report carries its own publication date and preliminary status.