Cotopaxi National Park Facts
Cotopaxi National Park Facts
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| Interesting Cotopaxi National Park Facts: |
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| It is possible to reach Cotopaxi National Park by vehicle as there is a highway reaching the park. |
| Cotopaxi Volcano is the second highest volcano in the entire world at 5897 meters. |
| Cotopaxi National Park is second only to Galapagos Islands National Park in size. |
| One of the popular tourist activities in Cotopaxi National Park is climbing to the summit of Cotopaxi Volcano. Despite looking extremely high it is only about an 8 to 10 hour climb for someone in good shape. Those who wish to climb to the summit must acclimate to the higher altitude to avoid getting sick. |
| Approximately 100 people attempt to climb to the summit of Cotopaxi Volcano each weekend. |
| Two other volcanoes located in Cotopaxi National Park are Sincholagua Volcano and Ruminawi Volcano. |
| Cotopaxi Volcano last erupted in 1904, although some activity was recorded as recent as 1942. |
| Native animals found living in Cotopaxi National Park include foxes, bears, pumas, wolves, wild horses, condors, and rabbits. |
| There are estimated to be about 200 different plant species found in Cotopaxi National Park. There are several vegetation zones to the park because of the varying elevations. |
| Visitors to Cotopaxi National Park can enjoy a variety of activities including hiking, mountain climbing, mountain biking, mountaineering, horseback riding, camping, bird watching, wildlife watching, and site seeing. |
| Large boulders can be seen on the lower, more flat grounds of Cotopaxi National Park that look like giant salt grains. These are remnants of eruptions of the volcanoes in the park. |
| The Andean condor can be seen in Cotopaxi National Park. This is Ecuador's national symbol and the world's second largest bird. Its wingspan can reach 3 meters wide. |
| Aside from Cotopaxi Volcano there are several other attractions for visitors to enjoy including the Lagoon of Limpiopungo, the Lagoon of Santo Domingo, the Lookout of Sunfana, Pita River, Boliche recreational Area, and Mariscal Sucre Museum. |
| The number of visitors to Cotopaxi National Park reaches as high as 200,000 a year. |
| In 2015 fears began to emerge that Cotopaxi Volcano was about to erupt again. The volcano's activity increased and this could result in melting the glacier peak of the mountain, and flooding the towns below. If the volcano were to erupt it would also be devastating to the people living in the town below. Evacuation plans have been established. The park has been closed at times when risk is high. |
| Cotopaxi National Park is also subject to earthquakes because of its location on the Pacific Ring of Fire. |
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