at Tungurahua.
Recent geographical research has used Chimborazo as a case study for understanding tropical glacier retreat and local water-resource vulnerability in the central Ecuadorian Andes. A 2017 study by Jeff La Frenierre and Bryan G. Mark combined meteorological records, glacier-change analysis, and local observations. The authors found evidence of warming between 1986 and 2011, while residents interviewed in the region reported reduced rainfall and lower surface-water availability. This makes Chimborazo important not only as a volcanic and geodetic landmark, but also as a place where changes in high-mountain ice can affect nearby communities that depend on Andean water systems.
Chimborazo's glacial ice is mined by locals (the so-called Hieleros from Spanish Hielo for Ice) to be sold in the markets of Guaranda and Riobamba. In earlier days, the people transported ice for cooling uses down to coastal towns such as Babahoyo or Vinces.
Elevation
With an elevation of , Chimborazo is the highest mountain in Ecuador and the Andes north of Peru; it is higher than any more northerly summit in the Americas.
Farthest point from Earth's center
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 in Peru a very close second.
As a result of the oblate spheroid shape of the planet Earth, which is thicker at the Equator than it is from pole to pole, the summit of Chimborazo is the fixed point on Earth that has the utmost distance from the center. 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 28° 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.
Centrifugal force from the Earth's rotation, and distance from the center of the Earth, cause the force of gravity to be slightly reduced near the equator. The summit of Chimborazo has about one percent less gravity than the point with the highest gravitational force. Yet, due to its height above the surrounding terrain and local gravity anomalies, the summit of Huascarán is the place on Earth with the smallest gravitational force.
Geology
Chimborazo is an ice-capped inactive volcano. It is a double volcano composed of one volcanic edifice on top of another. Chimborazo shows four summits; Whymper, Veintimilla, Politecnica, and Nicolas Martínez. The Whymper peak is the highest point on the mountain at 6,263 meters. The Veintimilla peak is about high. The Politecnica peak is high. The last peak, Nicolas Martínez, is high and was named after the father of Ecuadorian mountaineering. The volcano is categorized as a stratovolcano. From his description of the mountain, it seems that before he and his companions had to return suffering from altitude sickness they reached a point at 5,875 m, higher than previously attained by any European in recorded history (Incans had reached much higher altitudes previously; see Llullaillaco). In 1831, Jean-Baptiste Boussingault and Colonel Hall reached a new "highest point", estimated to be 6,006 m. Other failed attempts to reach the summit followed.
On 4 January 1880, the English climber Edward Whymper reached the summit of Chimborazo. The route that Whymper took up the mountain is now known as the Whymper route. As there were many critics who doubted that Whymper had reached the summit, later in the same year he climbed to the summit again, choosing a different route (Pogyos) with the Ecuadorians David Beltrán and Francisco Campaña. the aircraft was found with the bodies of its 59 occupants at an elevation of on Chimborazo by Ecuadorian climbers, on the rarely used eastern route Integral.
Mountaineering
thumb|Sketch of Chimborazo huts, main summits, and routes
As Ecuador's highest mountain, Chimborazo is a popular climb and can be climbed year-round with the best seasons being December–January and June-July.
Routes
The easiest (IFAS Grade: PD) and most climbed routes are the Normal and the Whymper routes. Both are western ridge routes starting at the Whymper hut and leading via the Ventemilla summit to the main (Whymper) summit.
There are several other less used and more challenging routes on the mountain's other faces and ridges leading to one of Chimborazo's summits: Main (Whymper, Ecuador), Politecnico (Central), N. Martinez (Eastern). The mountain is contained on the IGM (Instituto Geografico Militar) 1:50000 Map Chimborazo (CT-ÑIV-C1).
Cultural references
- Chimborazo is featured on the Ecuadorian coat of arms, to represent the beauty and richness of the Ecuadorian Sierra (Highlands).
- Simón Bolívar's poem, "Mi delirio sobre el Chimborazo", was inspired by the mountain.
- In his central essay "The Poet", Ralph Waldo Emerson uses the Chimborazo as metaphor for the poet (and the creative genius in general), who "must stand out of our low limitations".
- Walter J. Turner's poem "Romance" contains the couplet "Chimborazo, Cotopaxi/They had stolen my soul away!"
- Miguel Ángel León wrote a poem entitled "Canto al Chimborazo" (Song to Chimborazo).
- David Weber's novel The Armageddon Inheritance mentions Mount Chimborazo as the site for a massive planetary defense installation.
- American Dad! season 21, episode four is centered around the family's trip to Ecuador to climb Mount Chimborazo after Stan cannot afford to take them to Mount Everest. Chimborazo's summit height due to the equatorial bulge is mentioned frequently throughout the episode.
- Rafael Salas “Vista del Chimborazo” 1870-1880. Oil paintings.
See also
- Lists of volcanoes
- List of volcanoes in Ecuador
- List of mountains in the Andes
- List of Ultras of South America
- List of mountains in Ecuador