Ecuador's Cotopaxi volcano spews ash south of Quito

1	QUITO, Ecuador (AP) - A 2-mile-high (5-kilometer-high) plume of ash shot out of the Cotopaxi volcano near Ecuador's capital Friday in two pre-dawn blasts, coating highways, homes and cars with a fine gray powder.
2	Government scientists said the 5,987-meter (19,600-foot) snow-capped volcano doesn't seem to be on the verge of a major eruption.
3	Authorities nevertheless restricted access to the park that surrounds Cotopaxi and suspended ascents of the peak, which is popular with mountaineers.
4	Patricio Ramon of Ecuador's geophysics institute told Teleamazonas TV that the explosions were small phreatic eruptions, which occur when molten rock, or magma, meets water and produces a violent steam release.
5	"The situation merits the population staying informed about what's happening with the volcano," said Ramon.
6	The volcano is 30 miles (50 kilometers) from Quito.
7	It began showing renewed activity in April.
8	Its last major eruption was in 1877.