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is a dormant
volcano with a water filled
caldera, located in the Western Cordilleras, 25 km west of Otavalo
and near Cotacachi town and
at the foot of
an extinct volcano of the same name. Its geographical
location is 0.308° N and 78.364°W
and it reaches at 3240m its highest
point in the crater rim. This crater lake
(very similar to Crater Lake in Oregon) boasts of islands in the
middle, which are the remnants of lava domes
from its days of volcanic activities. |
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Cuicocha Crater Lake lies at the foot of the extinct volcano
Cotocachi (4968m) in the Western Cordillera in the
province of Imbabura, north of Quito. That area is home to
several mostly dormant volcanoes, like Mojanda,
Imbabura and Cayambe. All those volcanoes contributed
with their historical eruptions to the fertile valley,
one of the most productive agricultural region in the Andean
highland. So not only short term devastation do volcanoes bring
but also long term benefits to the environment and nature. |
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Cuicocha was very active in the last 15 000 years and had its last big eruption
around 3000 years ago with lava streams covering the area of present-day
Cotocachi town and Quiroga. Ashes covered nearby regions 20 cm deep and
farther ones up to 5 cm. From then on, however,
the volcano entered a
dormant stage and water filled its huge caldera
to the present level of 200m depth. |
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The crater lake is three km wide
and some 200m deep. The water is alkaline and supports
very little life. The islands in the middle are lava domes,
which rise over the water surface. They are well covered
with vegetation and support some wildlife. ( Composite photo by the author). |
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In case
of an eruption, small rural villages and
farmsteads bordering the caldera would be directly affected.
Lava could reach bigger settlements like Quiroga and Cotocachi
as it did 3000 years ago. The biggest economical damage would
be the fall out of ashes as that area is a rich farming region
of Ecuador. |
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The
water-filled caldera with its
lava domes (islands in the middle) can be well appreciated
by this photo taken from a commercial airplane by Christian
Storch in July of 2005. |
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Latest Update: |
Danger alert:
none
No activities reported in the last few hundred years. |
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