Today we woke up early to head to Quilotoa. We had a guest with us along this journey his name was Theo. He told us that Ecuador is the most dangerous in terms of seismic and volcanic activity. There are 4 volcanic chains in Ecuador eastern, western, interdean, and subddean. He explained to us that Ecuador needs better academic systems and scientists.
Along the way we stopped at an indigenous tribes home. The house was constructed out of wood and grass. They lived with guinea pigs because they eat insects. They don't really clean their house because spider webs trap flies. These people were very kind to show us their home. Our next stop was at the Canon del Rio Toachi. It formed by the emission of pyroclastic flows, lithic fragment, bombs, and pumice from Quilotoa (Leduc, 2018). We took photos and then headed back on the bus. Then we arrived at Quilotoa and and took pictures over the lookout. We ate lunch at the restaurant across the street. Theo explained that there is water because there was a massive eruption and the middle collapsed in on itself and filled in with water. He told us that every year the lake goes down 1 meter and you can't swim in them. After the discussion the group went to the bottom. Lauren, Greg, and I decided not to go down to the bottom. Instead we stayed at the top took pictures and played with the stray dogs. When everyone returned to the top we headed back to Quito. On our way back we saw the sunset reflecting off of Cotopaxi. It was so beautiful and I can't wait to see it tomorrow. When we got back and heard a presentation from Theo. Dr. Theo Tou talked about geodynamics, volcanology, and evolution of life in Ecuador and the Galapagos. He explained that there are 3 types of plate boundaries divergent, convergent, transcurrent. The Galapagos is responsible for earthquakes. He said that every 100 years there is an earthquake in Quito. Theo discussed the five most dangerous volcanoes of Ecuador. The fifth most dangerous is Sumatra then Cuicocha lake, Quilotoa, Pululahua volcano, and last Chalupas. After the presentation we ate dinner at the hotel restaurant. The service was absolutely terrible and everyone's food was gross. After the terrible food at the restaurant we headed to bed. Reference Leduc, H. 2018. Canyon del rio Toachi. Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/henriquito/45112973342 |