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Cotacachi

Photo of this volcano
  • Country
  • Volcanic Region
  • Landform | Volc Type
  • Last Known Eruption
  • 0.364°N
  • 78.351°W

  • 4,939 m
    16,204 ft

  • 352802
  • Latitude
  • Longitude

  • Summit
    Elevation

  • Volcano
    Number

The Global Volcanism Program has no activity reports available for Cotacachi.

The Global Volcanism Program has no Weekly Reports available for Cotacachi.

The Global Volcanism Program has no Bulletin Reports available for Cotacachi.

The Global Volcanism Program has no synonyms or subfeatures listed for Cotacachi.

Eruptive History

The Global Volcanism Program is not aware of any Holocene eruptions from Cotacachi. If this volcano has had large eruptions (VEI >= 4) prior to 12,000 years ago, information might be found on the Cotacachi page in the LaMEVE (Large Magnitude Explosive Volcanic Eruptions) database, a part of the Volcano Global Risk Identification and Analysis Project (VOGRIPA).

Deformation History

There is no Deformation History data available for Cotacachi.

Emission History

There is no Emissions History data available for Cotacachi.

Photo Gallery

Sharp-peaked Cotacachi stratovolcano rises above the caldera lake of Cuicocha volcano. The northern caldera wall truncates the flank of the heavily eroded Cotacachi. The caldera was formed during powerful explosive eruptions about 3100 years ago that produced 4.8 cu km of pumice-rich pyroclastic flows and airfall tephra that blanket the surrounding countryside.

Photo by Tom Pierson, 1992 (U.S. Geological Survey).
Scenic lake-filled Cuicocha caldera is located at the southern foot of the sharp-peaked Pleistocene Cotacachi stratovolcano. The caldera was created about 3100 years ago and contains a cluster of intra-caldera dacitic lava domes that form two islands in the large lake. A pre-caldera Cuicocha lava dome is situated on the east side of the lake (right). Pyroclastic-flow deposits cover wide areas around the volcano. The northern caldera rim truncates the heavily eroded slopes of Cotocachi volcano.

Photo by Minard Hall, 1985 (Escuela Politécnica Nacional, Quito).
The scenic lake-filled Cuicocha caldera is located at the southern foot of the sharp-peaked Pleistocene Cotacachi stratovolcano (top center) about 100 km north of Quito. Farmer's fields encroach on the rim of the 3-km-wide caldera, which was created during a major explosive eruption about 3100 years ago. Dacitic lava domes form two forested islands in the caldera lake. Pyroclastic-flow deposits from the caldera-forming eruptions cover wide areas in now populated areas below the low-rimmed caldera.

Photo by Patricio Ramon, 2003 (Instituto Geofisca, Escuela Politecnica Nacional).
GVP Map Holdings

Maps are not currently available due to technical issues.

The maps shown below have been scanned from the GVP map archives and include the volcano on this page. Clicking on the small images will load the full 300 dpi map. Very small-scale maps (such as world maps) are not included.

Smithsonian Sample Collections Database

There are no samples for Cotacachi in the Smithsonian's NMNH Department of Mineral Sciences Rock and Ore collection.

External Sites