The Cotopaxi vocano in Ecuador has had two eruptions.

[MADem]

They've restricted access to the area and no one can climb up it for the time being.

There was some ash fall, people were wearing masks in the nearby town, and one resident said she smelled sulfur. This is the first time this has happened since the late 1800s.

Dos explosiones freáticas se registraron en las últimas horas en el volcán Cotopaxi, en el centro andino de Ecuador, informó hoy el Ministerio de Ambiente con base en datos del Instituto Geofísico de la Escuela Politécnica Nacional. EFE

El ministerio indicó en un comunicado que han decidido restringir el acceso al Parque Nacional Cotopaxi, en especial a las zonas del refugio, y suspender hasta nuevo aviso el ascenso a cumbre.

“Esta decisión ha sido tomada con el fin de precautelar la integridad física de los visitantes, pues el volcán Cotopaxi, según información del Instituto Geofísico de la Escuela Politécnica Nacional, registró dos explosiones freáticas con presencia de ceniza”, añadió.

Pobladores de la localidad de Machachi, cerca de la capital ecuatoriana, dijeron a la televisión Ecuavisa que se percataron de la caída de ceniza durante la madrugada.
La televisión presentó imágenes en las que se visualizó una ligera capa de ceniza sobre coches, mientras pobladores usaban mascarillas para evitar los efectos del polvo volcánico.

http://www.lapatilla.com/site/2015/08/14/registran-dos-explosiones-freaticas-en-el-volcan-cotopaxi-de-ecuador/

[Judi Lynn]

1. Ecuador's Cotopaxi volcano spews ash just south of Quito

Ecuador's Cotopaxi volcano spews ash just south of Quito
Associated Press
Aug. 14, 2015 5:53 PM EDT



QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — Four blasts inside the Cotopaxi volcano sent ash shooting more than two miles (five kilometers) in the sky Friday, coating highways, homes and cars just south of Ecuador's capital with a fine gray powder.

Government scientists said the 5,987-meter (19,600-foot) snow-capped volcano did not seem to be on the verge of a major eruption.

Authorities nevertheless restricted access to the park that surrounds Cotopaxi and suspended ascents of the peak, which is popular with mountaineers.

Patricio Ramon of Ecuador's geophysics institute said the explosions, which began before dawn, were phreatic eruptions, which occur when molten rock, or magma, meets water and produces a violent steam release.

More:
http://bigstory.ap.org/urn:publicid:ap.org:26c685d29b1c47f18c1bdb421f61a778

[Judi Lynn]

2. Ecuador president to declare state of emergency over volcano

Ecuador president to declare state of emergency over volcano
By AFP 49 mins ago.

Ecuador's President Rafael Correa said he would declare a state of emergency Saturday as the Cotopaxi volcano rumbled to life and prompted precautionary evacuation orders in several villages.

"We will declare a state of emergency based on the activity of the Cotopaxi volcano. Why have I made that decision? To secure resources... to address a potential emergency and mobilize the necessary resources," Correa said in his weekly address.

http://www.digitaljournal.com/news/world/ecuador-president-to-declare-state-of-emergency-over-volcano/article/441162#ixzz3iuGVdyl5

[Zorro]

3. Cotopaxi is a very impressive volcano visually

Symmetric and snow-capped.

Lots of cultivated farmland around it; hope this is a short phase and it returns to dormancy soon.

[Bacchus4.0]

4. Heading there very soon, not to the highlands though this time nt

[Zorro]

5. Send a postcard to Judi

You know how she always wants to hear the truth about what's really going on in SA.

[Bacchus4.0]

6. Great idea. Yes, I will do that. I hope to get some protest photos

Probably won't get too many boobies or butt shots though.