Ecuador’s Sangay volcano is the most active volcano in Ecuador despite erupting only three times in recorded history.  The eruption that started in 1934 is still ongoing and every so often the belly of the beast grumbles and onlookers are treated to a fiery display of smoke, vapour, and lava on a scale far greater than normal.

On one such occasion while stationed at Aurania’s field office in Macas, Ecuador, Aurania’s CEO, Dr. Keith Barron, witnessed an explosion so large that locals claimed decades had passed since Sangay had last erupted with such force. While still a safe 30km distance away from the event, we were able to capture a small amount of footage showing the pyroclastic flow while choppering out to a remote area of The Lost Cities Project area for geological work.

Understanding how these geological systems work and watching them in action is the kind of thing that gives a seasoned geologist goose bumps!