June 15, 1742 Eruption of Cotopaxi

Name: June 15, 1742 Eruption of Cotopaxi
Start: 1742-06-15
Location: Cotopaxi, Ecuador

June 15, 1742 · VEI 3 · Deaths: many

Cotopaxi in Ecuador erupted on June 15, 1742 with a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 3.

Where it erupted

Cotopaxi, Ecuador, with its other significant eruptions.

Open the live map with volcanic ash advisories

The eruption

Date: June 15, 1742
Volcano: Cotopaxi, stratovolcano
Country: Ecuador
Volcanic Explosivity Index: 3, moderate to large (eruption column 3 to 15 km)
Killed by: Mudflows and lahars
Location: 0.677° S, 78.436° W

The toll

Deaths: Many (about 101 to 1,000)
Damage: Severe (about $5 to $25 million)

Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.

What the record says

NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.

Lahars caused much destruction and fatalities: both 6/15 and 12/09 eruptions in 1742.

Other significant eruptions of Cotopaxi

Every eruption in 1742 The 1700s Cotopaxi Earthquakes near Cotopaxi This day in weather history

Sources

Volcanoes and significant eruptions from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. Volcano numbers are the Smithsonian Institution’s Global Volcanism Program’s. NCEI event 3918.