- Laguna de Cotacotani
Infobox_lake
lake_name = Cotacotani Lake
image_lake = Volcan Parinacota + CotaCotani lakes.jpg
caption_lake = Cotacotani (left), Pomerape and Parinacota (right).
image_bathymetry =
caption_bathymetry =
location =Arica-Parinacota Region
coords = coord|18|11|S|69|13|W|type:waterbody_region:CL|display=inline,title
type =
inflow = Benedicto Morales River, El Encuentro Creek
outflow = Desaguadero River
catchment = 119 km²
basin_countries = Chile
length =
width =
area = 6 km²
depth =
max-depth = 10 m
volume =
residence_time =
shore =
elevation = 4495 m
islands =
cities =
reference = Es icon [http://www.chile.ird.fr/pdf/salarpdf/Primera%20Region/COT.pdf IRD en Chile: Lagunas Cotacotani] ]Laguna de Cotacotani is a
lake [It is considered as one or several lakes, depending on sources.] located in the Andeanaltiplano of theParinacota Province ,Arica-Parinacota Region ,Chile . It lies 4 km northwest ofChungará Lake , which is one of the highest lakes in the world and is surrounded by several volcanoes, such as the group formed by theNevados de Payachata (Parinacota andPomerape ), theNevado Sajama and theGuallatiri .Laguna de Cotacotani is separated from the lake Chungará by a strip of volcanic rock and receives groundwater inflow from that lake, however its major sources are "Benedicto Morales River" and "El Encuentro Creek". Cotacotani Lake's main feature is the considerable number of islands and islets that it holds, which are really lava hummocks generated by a past volcanic event. With a surface of 6 km², the Cotacotani holds a volume of water between 30 to 40 million of m³, which empty through
Lauca River intoCoipasa Lake , inBolivia .Although much of its present hummocky topography is related to a large volcanic debris avalanche occurred in the zone, this lacustrine area was not originated by such event. Recent investigations suggests that Cotacotani originated as a series of
kettle hole ponds.cite web |url=http://www.itg.cam.ac.uk/people/heh/Paper170.pdf |title=Geological constraints on the emplacement mechanism of the Parinacota debris avalanche, northern Chile |accessdate=2007-08-07 |format= |work= ]Cotacotani lies close to the Route CH-11, which connects Arica and La Paz via
Tambo Quemado International Pass . The lake is located about 54 km east ofPutre and 9 km west of the border with Bolivia, withinLauca National Park .References
*This article draws partially on the corresponding article in the Spanish-language Wikipedia, accessed
August 7 ,2007 .
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