-
Difficulty:
-
-
Terrain:
-
Size: 
(not chosen)
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
INTRODUCTION
This location is one of the most beautiful sites in Nicaragua. People come here to eat, shop, and enjoy the view. However, most people do not realize that this location was created by a volcano.
A LESSON IN VOLCANO TYPES
Depending on which source you use, there are between 2 and 26 types of volcanoes. In order to keep this simple enough to keep peoples interest and educational enough to be useful, only three types of volcanoes will be examined. They are stratovolcanoes, cone volcanoes, and shield volcanoes. Volcanoes often have a crater of caldera at the top where the lava comes out. A caldera is a roundish area forming after the ground collapses after the eruption. They can be identified by the steep walled rim at the top of a volcano. Probably, the most famous caldera is Crater Lake in Oregon.
Stratovolcanoes, also called composite volcanoes, are the most common type of volcano and are what most people visualize when they think of volcanoes. Their lower slopes are gentle and rise steeply near the top. They usually have a very small caldera. These volcanoes have a central vent and smaller vents of lava underground. The explosions can be violent eruptions reaching thousands of feet high and lasting several hours or they can be like Mount Saint Helens where an entire side of the mountain explodes.
A cone, also called a scoriacone, volcano has straight sides of about 15-35 degrees are only a few hundred meters high and a very large caldera on top. They are the smallest of the volcanoes. These eruptions are only a few hundred meters in the air and the lava usually fall back down into the cone.
The shield volcano gets their name from the distinctive, gently sloping mount-like shapes resembling fighting shields used by ancient warriors. They are very wide (1-100 kilometers) and their height is only about 1/20th of their width. There is usually a low volume of lava and it typically ‘oozes’ out as opposed to a violent eruption. They usually have a very wide, deep caldera.
THE APOYO VOLCANO
The Apoyo volcano is only 23,000 years old – very young by geological standards. It is Nicaragua’s cleanest, bluest, and deepest swimming hole. The lake is a 48 square-kilometer (18.5 square-miles) body of water trapped inside the crater (the caldera) of the Apoyo Volcano. The deepest measured point (200 meters or 660 feet) is the lowest point in all of Central America. Its shores are easily accessible, and a remarkably small number of tourist facilities (and luxurious private homes) have been constructed at the water’s edge. The volcano still has some underwater thermal vents and experiences the occasional seismic tremor, but for the most part, it’s considered dormant and its walls are thickly vegetated with green forest and a chaotic network of trails, most of which exists as a protected nature reserve. These underwater vents keep the water at about 28º C (over 80º F).
The earthquake in 2000 originated under the town of Catarina (which sits atop the western lip of the crater) and actually caused the water of the lake to slosh from side to side, starting a rumor that it was boiling. There are several fish species endemic to the lake—products of the forces of evolution in an isolated habitat. Scientists at the Proyecto Ecologico are at work describing some of the remaining “undiscovered” species here and offer scuba tours to view their subjects.
Hiking in the forests of the crater walls, you may observe species of toucans, hummingbirds, blue jays, howler and white-face monkeys, and rare butterflies. As you explore, be sure to wave a friendly greeting when passing the Lugareños (as residents of the local small communities are known). To fit in, pronounce your “Adios” as a long, drawn out, “Adiooooh.” No need to be as cordial to the monkeys, who may fling their feces at you if you get too close.
CACHE QUESTIONS
To successfully log this cache, you will need to do the following steps. Any step skipped will result in a deleted log.
1. You actually have to visit the cache site after the publication date. You can’t send in old photographs. To prove this, go to the sign at N 11º 54.771, W 86º 04.131 and have a photograph of yourself with your GPS.
2. Begin your log: “Hello from *city*, *state/country*” This will let everybody know where all the visitors are from.
3. Go to the cache location (the west side of the top of the caldera). Let your eyes follow the top of the caldera and the waterline all around the lake. What is the angle from the top of the banks to the water line? Is this angle steeper on any part of the lake?
4. When you go back down the hill, look at the angle of your decent (if your GPS has an elevation feature, note the elevation at the rim and the elevation of either Masaya, Masatepe, or San Antonio (depending on what direction you leave). Also look at the distance between the two locations. How does this angle compare to the angles you examined in number 3. Use these facts and tell me what kind of volcano created this lake?
5. At what angle (north, south, east, or west) is the caldera is the highest and the lowest?
References
www.moon.com/planner/nicaragua/mustsees/lagunadeapoyo.html
encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761570122_3/Volcano.html
library.thinkquest.org/17457/volcanoes/types.php
vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Glossary/VolcanoTypes/volcano_types.html
www.geology.sdsu.edu/how_volcanoes_work/Volcano_types.html
library.thinkquest.org/03oct/00795/voltypes.html
www.vianica.com/go/specials/25-apoyo-lagoon-nicaragua.html
www.nicaraguatravel.biz/lagunadeapoyo.php
vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/Nicaragua/description_nicaragua_volcanoes.html
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)