It has been active for over four thousand years. The strongest eruption took place at the turn of 1532 and 1533, and as a result, the city of Tacunga was destroyed. Violent eruptions occurred in 1742, 1744, 1768, and 1877. The eruption in 1744 was heard in Colombia, 800 km away.
The 1742 eruption was witnessed by French scientists and members of the French Geodetic Mission as they descended from the nearby stratovolcano Guagua Pichincha.
The last eruption took place in 2015 and lasted for over five months. Ash and steam were coming out of the volcano. Ash deposited in areas around the volcano, destroying farmland, and also reached the outskirts of Quito, the capital of Ecuador.
