Ash plume rising from Cotopaxi volcano, Ecuador. Cotopaxi is a stratovolcano in the Andes Mountains, about 75 kilometres south of Quito, Ecuador. It began erupting in August 2015, 138 years after its last major eruption. Another major eruption could melt the volcano's glacier, causing mud flows to flood nearby towns and Ecuador's capital city Quito, 50 kilometres away. Cotopaxi is the second highest summit in Ecuador, reaching a height of 5,897 metres. Photographed on 11th September 2015.