June 25, 1877 Eruption of Cotopaxi
Cotopaxi in Ecuador erupted on June 25, 1877 with a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 4. The eruption killed 340 people.
Where it erupted
Cotopaxi, Ecuador, with its other significant eruptions.
The eruption
The toll
- Deaths
- 340
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.
Wolf reports at Mullao the priest observed 20 people swept away by the lahar. The Latacunga district had 300 fatalities, not including outsiders and 20 Indians were killed by lahars at Napo. Coleman gives the death toll at 1,000 but the basis for this is not clear.
Other significant eruptions of Cotopaxi
More
Every eruption in 1877The 1800sCotopaxiEarthquakes near CotopaxiThis 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 3944.