Quilotoa

Infobox Mountain
Name=Quilotoa
Photo=Panorama quilotoa crater lake ecuador.jpg
Caption=Panorama of the lake-filled Quilotoa caldera.
Elevation=convert|3914|m|ft|0
Location=Ecuador
Range=Andes
Prominence =
Coordinates = coord|0.861193|S|78.897285|W|format=dms|type:mountain_region:EC|display=inline,title
Topographic

Type=Caldera
Age= approx. 40,000 years
Last eruption= 1280 (?)
First ascent=
Easiest route=

Quilotoa (key-low-TOE-ah) is a water-filled caldera and the westernmost volcano in the Ecuadorian Andes. The Convert|3|km|mi|0 wide caldera was formed by the collapse of this dacite volcano following a catastrophic VEI-6 eruption about 800 years ago, which produced pyroclastic flows and lahars that reached the Pacific Ocean, and spread an airborne deposit of volcanic ash throughout the northern Andes. The caldera has since accumulated a Convert|250|m|ft|-1|abbr=on deep crater lake, which has a greenish color as a result of dissolved minerals. Fumaroles are found on the lake floor and hot springs occur on the eastern flank of the volcano.

Quilotoa is a tourist site of growing popularity. The route to the "summit" is generally traveled by hired truck from the nearby town of Zumbahua. Visitors must pay one American dollar each to look from the lip of the caldera. A number of simple "hostales" have developed in the immediate area, and offer services such as mules and guides for the five-hour hike around the caldera (whose diameter is about 3km), and lodging down in its bowl.

ee also

*List of volcanoes in Ecuador

References

*

External links

* [http://www.exploringecuador.com/en_ar_quilotoa.htm Travel information]
* [http://www.moon.com/planner/ecuador/mustsees/lagunaquilotoa.html Travel information]