Ash and steam spewing from Tungarahua volcano.
Authorities in Ecuador ordered the evacuation of 1,200 people living around Tungurahua volcano after the mountain began producing nearly constant activity.
People from 10 villages were sent to sleep in shelters and were allowed to tend their crops only during daylight hours.
Volcanic tremors rattled windows miles away as the mountain emitted an intense glow from its crater and spewed a plume of fine ash.
Tungurahua, or “throat of fire” in the indigenous Quichua language, has been active since 1999.
An August 2006 eruption severely damaged or destroyed nearly 5,000 homes. Ash spewed from the mountain covered some 475,000 acres (197,000 hectares) of farmland.
Photo: Government of Ecuador Digg This 