Instruct: Given a question, retrieve relevant passages that answer the question.
Query: What is the highest mountain in Ecuador?
With a peak elevation of , Chimborazo is the highest mountain in Ecuador. It is the highest peak near the equator. Chimborazo is not the highest mountain by elevation above sea level, but its location along the equatorial bulge makes its summit the farthest point on the Earth's surface from the Earth's center.
Ecuador ( , ) (), officially the Republic of Ecuador (, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; ), is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Ecuador also includes the Galápagos Islands in the Pacific, about west of the mainland. The capital city is Quito and the largest city as well.
Aconcagua (), with a summit elevation of , is the highest mountain in both the Southern and Western Hemispheres. It is located in the Andes mountain range, in the Mendoza Province, Argentina, and lies northwest of its capital, the city of Mendoza, about from San Juan Province and from the international border with Chile. The mountain itself lies entirely within Argentina, immediately east of Argentina's border with Chile. Its nearest higher neighbor is Tirich Mir in the Hindu Kush, away. It is one of the Seven Summits.
Riobamba (, full name San Pedro de Riobamba) is the capital of the Chimborazo Province in central Ecuador, which is located at the Chambo River Valley of the Andes. It is south of Ecuador's capital Quito and located at 2,754 m on the Avenue of the Volcanoes. The city is an important regional transport center as well as being a stop on the Pan-American Highway that runs through Ecuador. Riobamba stands as one of the largest cities in the central portion of Ecuador's Sierra region.
The Andes or Andean Mountains () are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. This range is about long, about wide (widest between 18° south and 20° south latitude), and of an average height of about . The Andes extend from north to south through seven South American countries: Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina.
In 1897 Mount Saint Elias () on the Alaska-Yukon border was summitted by the Duke of the Abruzzi and party. But it was not until 1913 that Denali (), the tallest peak in North America, was successfully climbed by Hudson Stuck. Mount Logan (), the tallest peak in Canada was first summitted by a half dozen climbers in 1925 in an expedition that took more than two months.
In 1879-1880 the exploration of the highest Andes in South America began when English mountaineer Edward Whymper climbed Chimborazo () and explored the mountains of Ecuador. The Cordillera between Chile and Argentina was visited by Paul Güssfeldt in 1883, who ascended the volcano Maipo () and attempted to climb the tallest mountain in the Americas, Aconcagua () that same year but was unsuccessful. The summit of Aconcagua was finally reached on January 14, 1897 by Swiss mountaineer Matthias Zurbriggen during an expedition led by Edward FitzGerald that began in December 1896. The Andes of Bolivia were first explored by Sir William Martin Conway in 1898, who later visited the mountains of Tierra del Fuego on the southern tip of South America.
In the 1990s he ascended Popocatepetl in Mexico and Muztagh Ata (7546 m) in China. In the summer of 2001, he climbed Elbrus in Russia, the highest mountain in Europe. In the winter of 2002 and 2003, Winkler climbed Aconcagua in Argentina, the tallest mountain in South America.
The Chilean relief consists of the central depression, which crosses the country longitudinally, flanked by two mountain ranges that make up about 80% of the territory: the Andes mountains to the east-natural border with Bolivia and Argentina in the region of Atacama and the Coastal Range west-minor height from the Andes. Chile's highest peak is the Nevado Ojos del Salado, at 6891.3 m, which is also the highest volcano in the world. The highest point of the Coastal Range is Vicuña Mackenna, at 3114 meters, located in the Sierra Vicuña Mackenna, the south of Antofagasta. Among the coastal mountains and the Pacific is a series of coastal plains, of variable length, which allow the settlement of coastal towns and big ports. Some areas of the plains territories encompass territory east of the Andes, and the Patagonian steppes and Magellan, or are high plateaus surrounded by high mountain ranges, such as the Altiplano or Puna de Atacama.
Mount Rainier is the tallest mountain in Washington and the Cascade Range. This peak is located just east of Eatonville and just southeast of Seattle and Tacoma. Mount Rainier is ranked third of the 128 ultra-prominent mountain peaks of the United States. Mount Rainier has a topographic prominence of , which is greater than that of K2, the world's second-tallest mountain, at . On clear days it dominates the southeastern horizon in most of the Seattle-Tacoma metropolitan area to such an extent that locals sometimes refer to it simply as "the Mountain." On days of exceptional clarity, it can also be seen from as far away as Corvallis, Oregon, (at Marys Peak) and Victoria, British Columbia.
The highest mountains above sea level are generally not the highest above the surrounding terrain. There is no precise definition of surrounding base, but Denali, Mount Kilimanjaro and Nanga Parbat are possible candidates for the tallest mountain on land by this measure. The bases of mountain islands are below sea level, and given this consideration Mauna Kea ( above sea level) is the world's tallest mountain and volcano, rising about from the Pacific Ocean floor. Ojos del Salado has the greatest rise on Earth— from the summit to the bottom of the Atacama Trench about away, though most of this rise is not part of the mountain.
The Andes are the longest mountain range on Earth, extending from the Tierra del Fuego archipelago in southernmost South America to Venezuela in the north. In southern Peru, the Andes consist of several mountain chains including the Western Cordillera and the Eastern Cordillera, with elevations of up to , which are separated from each other by the Altiplano.
The Tropical Andes are located in South America following the path of the Andes. They run, mainly, through five countries, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. The land initially was roughly but has decreased to , leaving 25% of the original land. Due to the massive amount of area the landscape is diverse. Diverse landscapes lead to diverse habitats and the ability to provide needed resources for many species. The diverse landscape includes snow-topped mountains down to canyons and valleys. The different vegetation as altitude changes includes tropical rainforests at , cloud forests ranging from , and the highest altitudes of contain grasslands up to snow. The most diverse cloud forests found in Peru and Bolivia covers . Dry forests and woodlands are also found throughout the Tropical Andes. The range is also home to the deepest gorge in Peru at deep and Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable water with an altitude of .
The largest mountain ranges are the Andes and Rocky Mountains. The Sierra Nevada and the Cascade Range reach similar altitudes as the Rocky Mountains, but are significantly smaller. In North America, the greatest number of fourteeners are in the United States, and more specifically in the U.S. state of Colorado. The highest peaks of the Americas are located in the Andes, with Aconcagua of Argentina being the highest; in North America Denali (Mount McKinley) in the U.S. state of Alaska is the tallest.
The summit of Mount Everest is higher above sea level, but the summit of Chimborazo is widely reported to be the farthest point on the surface from Earth's center, with Huascarán a very close second. The summit of the Chimborazo is the fixed point on Earth that has the utmost distance from the center – because of the oblate spheroid shape of the planet Earth, which is "thicker" around the Equator than measured around the poles. Chimborazo is one degree south of the Equator and the Earth's diameter at the Equator is greater than at the latitude of Everest ( above sea level), nearly 27.6° north, with sea level also elevated. Despite being lower in elevation above sea level, it is from the Earth's center, farther than the summit of Everest ( from the Earth's center). However, by height above sea level, Chimborazo is not the highest peak of the Andes.
Standing at a height of 2,920 meters (9,580 feet) above sea level, the Tequila Volcano, or "Volcán de Tequila" is a Stratovolcano located near Tequila, Jalisco, in Mexico. Stratovolcanoes, also referred to as Composite Volcanoes, are the "iconically" conical-shaped volcanoes, found most commonly along subduction zones. Stratovolcanoes are composed of steeply dipping layers of lava, hardened ash, and other material that erupted from the main vent such as tephra and pumice. Commonly higher than 2500 meters above sea-level, Stratovolcanoes have gentle lower slopes which gradually become steeper the higher you get with a relatively small summit crater. Due to their eruptions, Stratovolcanoes have several distinct variations giving some a specific feature such as calderas and amphitheaters.
The peak of Chimborazo is the farthest point from the center of the Earth. This is due to the Earth bulging out at the equator and Chimborazo being located just one degree south of the equator. Mount Everest is 28° north of the equator. Thus Chimborazo is 2.1 kilometres farther from the Earth's center than Everest. Chimborazo is 73.5 metres higher than the highest mountain in North America. Chimborazo is often associated with the nearby volcano Cotopaxi, although the two volcanoes have completely different structures.
Ibarra (; full name San Miguel de Ibarra) is a city in northern Ecuador and the capital of the Imbabura Province. It lies at the foot of the Imbabura Volcano and on the left bank of the Tahuando river. It is about northeast of Ecuador's capital Quito.
In the far east of Nepal, the Himalayas rise to the Kanchenjunga massif on the border with India, the third highest mountain in the world, the most easterly summit and the highest point of India. The eastern side of Kanchenjunga is in the Indian state of Sikkim. Formerly an independent Kingdom, it lies on the main route from India to Lhasa, Tibet, which passes over the Nathu La pass into Tibet. East of Sikkim lies the ancient Buddhist Kingdom of Bhutan. The highest mountain in Bhutan is Gangkhar Puensum, which is also a strong candidate for the highest unclimbed mountain in the world. The Himalayas here are becoming increasingly rugged with heavily forested steep valleys. The Himalayas continue, turning slightly northeast, through the Indian State of Arunachal Pradesh as well as Tibet, before reaching their easterly conclusion in the peak of Namche Barwa, situated in Tibet inside the great bend of the Yarlang Tsangpo river. On the other side of the Tsangpo, to the east, are the Kangri Garpo mountains. The high mountains to the north of the Tsangpo including Gyala Peri, however, are also sometimes also included in the Himalayas.
Bolívar () is a province in Ecuador. The capital is Guaranda. Much of the province has a cool, 'sierra' climate, but the part in the lower foothills has a cold, tundra like climate.
Several important mountain ranges dominate the landscape of southern and southeastern Mexico. The Sierra Madre del Sur extends 1,200 kilometers along Mexico's southern coast from the southwestern part of the Cordillera Neovolcánica to the nearly flat isthmus of Tehuantepec. Mountains in this range average 2,000 meters in elevation. The range averages 100 kilometers wide, but widens to 150 kilometers in the state of Oaxaca. The narrow southwest coastal plain extends from the Sierra Madre del Sur to the Pacific Ocean. The Sierra Madre de Oaxaca begins at Pico de Orizaba and extends in a southeasterly direction for 300 kilometers until reaching the isthmus of Tehuantepec. Peaks in the Sierra Madre de Oaxaca average 2,500 meters in elevation, with some peaks exceeding 3,000 meters. South of the isthmus of Tehuantepec, the Sierra Madre de Chiapas runs 280 kilometers along the Pacific Coast from the Oaxaca-Chiapas border to Mexico's border with Guatemala. Although average elevation is only 1,500 meters, one peak—Volcán de Tacuma—exceeds 4,000 meters in elevation. Finally, the Meseta Central de Chiapas extends 250 kilometers through the central part of Chiapas to Guatemala. The average height of peaks of the Meseta Central de Chiapas is 2,000 meters. The Chiapas central valley separates the Meseta Central de Chiapas and the Sierra Madre de Chiapas.
The Rocky Mountains are often defined as stretching from the Liard River in British Columbia south to the Rio Grande in New Mexico. The Rockies vary in width from . The Rocky Mountains are notable for containing the highest peaks in central North America. The range's highest peak is Mount Elbert located in Colorado at above sea level. Mount Robson in British Columbia, at , is the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies.
The eastern edge of the Rockies rises dramatically above the Interior Plains of central North America, including the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of New Mexico and Colorado, the Front Range of Colorado, the Wind River Range and Big Horn Mountains of Wyoming, the Absaroka-Beartooth ranges and Rocky Mountain Front of Montana and the Clark Range of Alberta.
Sincholagua is an inactive volcano located in Ecuador northeast of Cotopaxi Volcano and southeast of Quito. It is the 12th highest peak in the country at but also one of the lesser known ones. The name of the mountain comes from the indigenous language Quichua and means "strong above". Due to its close proximity to Cotopaxi, the second highest peak in Ecuador and the most popular volcano, it is far less frequently visited compared to other mountains in the country. It has a sharp peak and at one point had glacial cover year round, but all of the glaciers melted a few decades ago. However, snow can still be seen on the peak since there is there is sometimes heavy snowfall at the summit.
The Illinizas are a pair of volcanic mountains that are located to the south of Quito, Ecuador. They are located in the Illinizas Ecological Reserve ("Reserva Ecológica Los Illinizas"). These twin mountains are separated by a saddle that is about a kilometer long. The peaks are among the highest in Ecuador, with Illiniza Sur standing slightly taller than Illiniza Norte, its northern counterpart, at 5248 metres and 5126 metres respectively.
Cotopaxi is an active stratovolcano in the Andes Mountains, located in the Latacunga canton of Cotopaxi Province, about south of Quito, and northeast of the city of Latacunga, Ecuador, in South America. It is the second highest summit in Ecuador, reaching a height of . It is one of the world's highest volcanoes.
The Cordillera Occidental range is one of two main mountain ranges in the Andes in Ecuador, the other being the Cordillera Central. It spans the whole country from north to south. The highest peak of the Cordillera Occidental is Chimborazo (6,267 m).