455 BC Eruption of Cotopaxi

Name: 455 BC Eruption of Cotopaxi
Location: Cotopaxi, Ecuador

455 BC · VEI 4 · Deaths: few

Cotopaxi in Ecuador erupted in 455 BC with a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 4.

Where it erupted

Cotopaxi, Ecuador, with its other significant eruptions.

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The eruption

Date: 455 BC
Volcano: Cotopaxi, stratovolcano
Country: Ecuador
Volcanic Explosivity Index: 4, large (eruption column 10 to 25 km)
Killed by: Mudflows and lahars
Location: 0.677° S, 78.436° W

The toll

Deaths: Few (about 1 to 50)

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.

Giant lahar - deaths assumed. (reference #9675)

Other significant eruptions of Cotopaxi

Every eruption in 455 BC The 400s BC Cotopaxi Earthquakes near Cotopaxi

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 6627.