Known as the "throat of fire," Ecuador's Tungurahua volcano erupted Saturday (Dec. 4), spewing ash and lava nearly a mile high, according to news reports.

Volcano activity peaked Saturday between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m., CNN reported. At one point, the ash cloud shot to 1.9 miles (nearly 3 kilometers above the volcano's crater.

The 16,480-foot (5,023 meter) volcano has erupted intermittently since October 1999, and prior to this, the last major eruption had occurred from 1916 to 1918, according to the Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program.

Tungurahua is a stratovolcano, typically steep-sided characterized by explosive eruptions, and a category that includes Japan's Mt. Fuji, Mount Hood in Oregon, Mout St. Helens and Mount Rainier in Washington. [ LIVE SCIENCE ]