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The
Quilotoa is located 1 hour west of Latacunga, high in
the Western Cordilleras of the Andes, and it is a beautiful
volcanic crater lake at 3800 meters (12,400 feet) between
Zumbahua and Chugchilan, in the Cotopaxi Province, on
the road to the coast. Local legend claims it is connected
to the ocean and is therefore salty and sulfuric. A
trip to this region offers beautiful scenery and views
to snow covered mountain peaks. The area is also populated
by many Indians, who still are living and farming in
the old traditional ways of their forefathers.
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Quilotoa
had 5 large, ash-producing eruptions in the last 40
000 years. The last eruption occurred 800 years ago.
This ash cover with its distinct mineral and chemical
composition is a great time marker for archaeological
studies. The plains around the crater lake are buried
by a thick layer of pyroclastic materials, which were
ejected by the various eruptions of the volcano.
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