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Cajas by the numbers

Comparisons

01 / SURFACE & STORAGE

Similar size, different volume

Toreadora holds 35% more water than Llaviucu.

Laguna Toreadora

19.3 hasurface area2.19million m³ of water

Laguna Llaviucu

18.9 hasurface area1.62million m³ of water
Mapped lake outlines at the same scale, north up. Bars compare surveyed water volumes. · © OpenStreetMap
5,954water bodies in the Cajas Massif inventory
201lakes surveyed for depth and volume
139million m³ of water in those lakes
3,152–4,424m above sea level, lowest to highest

02 / THE LARGER LAKES

Lake shapes, heights and depths

See how the largest lakes stretch across the landscape. A long, branching shoreline can look very different from a compact lake, even when their surface areas are similar.

  1. Laguna Luspa

    Area
    77.5 ha
    Elevation
    3,776 m

  2. Laguna Oso Huayco

    Area
    63.9 ha
    Elevation
    3,856 m

  3. Laguna Mamamag / Taita Chugo

    Area
    57.3 ha
    Elevation
    3,543 m

  4. Laguna Lagarto Cocha

    Area
    46.5 ha
    Elevation
    4,001 m

  5. Laguna Sunin Cocha Grande

    Area
    40.4 ha
    Elevation
    3,842 m

  6. Laguna Ventanas

    Area
    34.3 ha
    Elevation
    3,913 m
The six largest surveyed lakes with outlines available here, all at the same map scale and with north at the top. Areas are the inventory measurements; elevation is the height of the lake’s surface above sea level. · © OpenStreetMap

Compare elevation, depth and water

Laguna Luspa

Laguna Oso Huayco

These two outlines share one map scale, with north at the top. Each pair of bars compares the same measurement. · © OpenStreetMap
Elevation above sea level
Laguna Luspa: 3,776 m
Laguna Oso Huayco: 3,856 m
Surface area
Laguna Luspa: 77.5 ha
Laguna Oso Huayco: 63.9 ha
Water volume
Laguna Luspa: 22.37 million m³
Laguna Oso Huayco: 13.92 million m³
Deepest point
Laguna Luspa: 65.3 m
Laguna Oso Huayco: 75.5 m
Average depth
Laguna Luspa: 28.9 m
Laguna Oso Huayco: 21.8 m

Laguna Oso Huayco sits 80 m higher than Laguna Luspa.

Laguna Luspa covers 1.21 times the surface of Laguna Oso Huayco, but holds 1.61 times the water.

The deepest point is 10.3 m farther down in Laguna Oso Huayco.

Laguna Luspa · 6 photos

Scroll through the photos. Select one to enlarge it.

A blue lake beneath dark ridges
1 / 6 · Trail Running Ecuador · Uso editorial con crédito
Orange flower heads beside a misty lake
2 / 6 · Trail Running Ecuador · Uso editorial con crédito
Clouds over mountain lake.
3 / 6 · Trail Running Ecuador · Uso editorial con crédito
Páramo plants in the foreground above a misty mountain lake.
4 / 6 · Trail Running Ecuador · Uso editorial con crédito
Runner selfie by mountain lake.
5 / 6 · Travis Pence · All rights reserved
Self-portrait beside Luspa under blue skies.
6 / 6 · Travis Pence · All rights reserved

Laguna Oso Huayco · 12 photos

Scroll through the photos. Select one to enlarge it.

Morning light on a still lake
1 / 12 · Travis Pence · All rights reserved
Blue water among rocky hills
2 / 12 · Travis Pence · All rights reserved
Lakes and peninsulas in the Osohuayco basin.
3 / 12 · Travis Pence · All rights reserved
Dark lakes in rocky paramo.
4 / 12 · Trail Running Ecuador · Uso editorial con crédito
Cluster of highland lakes.
5 / 12 · Trail Running Ecuador · Uso editorial con crédito
Approaching Osohuayco.
6 / 12 · Travis Pence · All rights reserved
Blue tent beside Osohuayco.
7 / 12 · Travis Pence · All rights reserved
Osohuayco shoreline panorama.
8 / 12 · Travis Pence · All rights reserved
Osohuayco after nightfall.
9 / 12 · Travis Pence · All rights reserved
Old flower spikes on the Osohuayco shore.
10 / 12 · Travis Pence · All rights reserved
Osohuayco below a pointed summit.
11 / 12 · Travis Pence · All rights reserved
Walker on the Osohuayco shore.
12 / 12 · Travis Pence · All rights reserved

03 / DEPTH & VOLUME

How much lake lies beneath?

Picture a building lowered into the water. Then imagine spreading that same water over a square of land.

All 201 lakes have measurements. The groups show which also have a mapped outline or photographs on this site. Changing the order keeps your selected lake.

Below the surface

Same vertical scale. Imagine a building with 3 m per storey.

With a flat bottom and the same surface area, Laguna Toreadora would be 11.3 m deep everywhere.

Same water, new footprint

2.19 m

deep, spread evenly

Square sides: 1 km

Water volume
2.19 million m³
≈ 874swimming pools of waterOne pool: 50 × 25 × 2 m
≈ 27.1football (soccer) pitches of surfaceOne pitch: 105 × 68 m

Laguna Toreadora · 2 photos

Scroll through the photos. Select one to enlarge it.

A shallow outlet among páramo plants
1 / 2 · Trail Running Ecuador · Uso editorial con crédito
A lakeshore in the last evening light
2 / 2 · Trail Running Ecuador · Uso editorial con crédito

04 / THE WHOLE INVENTORY

Thousands of little worlds

The Cajas Massif inventory includes 5,954 water bodies, from tiny pools to broad lakes. Counting them and measuring their surface tell two very different stories.

Share of water-body count

Below 1 ha95.5%At least 1 ha4.5%

Share of water surface

Below 1 ha14%At least 1 ha86%

05 / THE SURVEYED LAKES

A few lakes hold most of the water

Among the 201 surveyed lakes, ten hold almost two-thirds of the measured water.

Share of surveyed volume

Other 191 lakes36.1%Ten largest volumes63.9%

The ten largest volumes million m³

  1. Laguna Luspa22.37
  2. Laguna Oso Huayco13.92
  3. Laguna Mamamag / Taita Chugo12.77
  4. Laguna Lagarto Cocha9.9
  5. Laguna Sunin Cocha Grande8.01
  6. Laguna Hunanchi5.93
  7. Laguna Canutillos Grande4.79
  8. Laguna Culebrillas (3,901 m)4.35
  9. Laguna Larga4.11
  10. Laguna Inga Huasi2.97

06 / HIGH IN THE ANDES

A landscape stacked in elevation

More than half the water bodies lie between 3,800 m and 4,000 m above sea level. Compare their number with the area of water in each elevation band.

  1. Water bodies: 1
    4,400–<4,600 m
    Water surface: 0.002 km²
  2. Water bodies: 228
    4,200–<4,400 m
    Water surface: 0.419 km²
  3. Water bodies: 1,650
    4,000–<4,200 m
    Water surface: 4.11 km²
  4. Water bodies: 3,058
    3,800–<4,000 m
    Water surface: 10.194 km²
  5. Water bodies: 867
    3,600–<3,800 m
    Water surface: 3.31 km²
  6. Water bodies: 149
    3,400–<3,600 m
    Water surface: 0.901 km²
  7. Water bodies: 0
    3,200–<3,400 m
    Water surface: 0 km²
  8. Water bodies: 1
    3,000–<3,200 m
    Water surface: 0.189 km²

Each side has its own scale. Upper elevation limits are excluded.

07 / SHAPE & WATERSHED

Beyond the water’s edge

A long, narrow lake and a compact lake can cover the same area. Their shorelines and the land draining towards them add another dimension.

All 201 lakes have measurements. The groups show which also have a mapped outline or photographs on this site. Changing the order keeps your selected lake.

Laguna Llaviucu

Maximum length × width
744.3 × 389.3 m
Length-to-width ratio
1.91:1

Mapped outline, north up · © OpenStreetMap

More shore for the same area

Lake shoreline2.36 km

A circle of equal area1.54 km

1.53 times the shoreline of an equal-area circle.

The watershed around the lake

47.704 km²Watershed
0.189 km²Lake

The reported watershed covers 252.6 times the lake’s surface.

Squares compare areas. The watershed is the surrounding drainage area.

Laguna Llaviucu · 2 photos

Scroll through the photos. Select one to enlarge it.

Reeds and a forested lake valley
1 / 2 · Trail Running Ecuador · Uso editorial con crédito
Adult runner selfie by lake.
2 / 2 · Trail Running Ecuador · Uso editorial con crédito

RECORDS · SELECT ONE TO SEE ITS RANKING

Highest peaks4,510 mQuitahuaycu and Cerro Chuzalongo, tied

08 / RANKINGS

Every lake, ranked

Rank all 201 named lakes by area, depth or elevation. Open a lake to see its photo, where it lies, its nearest summit and what its name means.

Largest lakes by surface area

Most named lakes are small: 63 of the 201 cover less than 1 ha.

  1. A blue lake beneath dark ridges
    A blue lake beneath dark ridgesTrail Running Ecuador · Uso editorial con crédito
    View all 6 photos
    Orange flower heads beside a misty lake
    Orange flower heads beside a misty lake. Identified subject: Chuquiragua / flor de montaña.Trail Running Ecuador · Uso editorial con crédito
    Clouds over mountain lake.
    Clouds over mountain lake.Trail Running Ecuador · Uso editorial con crédito
    Páramo plants in the foreground above a misty mountain lake.
    Páramo plants in the foreground above a misty mountain lake. Identified subject: Chuquiragua / flor de montaña.Trail Running Ecuador · Uso editorial con crédito
    Runner selfie by mountain lake.
    Runner selfie by mountain lake.Travis Pence · All rights reserved
    Self-portrait beside Luspa under blue skies.
    Self-portrait beside Luspa under blue skies.Travis Pence · All rights reserved
    Surface area
    77.5 haLargest of 201
    Max depth
    65.3 m2nd deepest of 201
    Elevation
    3,776 m181st highest of 201
    Nearest named summit
    2.5 kmCerro Amarillo

    Behind the nameNamed for the slippery ground, nearly impassable from moisture and gelatinous green moss.

    Open on the map

MEASUREMENT TERMS

What do these measurements mean?

Metric: metres (m), hectares (ha), cubic metres (m³). Imperial: feet (ft), acres, cubic feet (ft³); larger areas use square miles (mi²).

Surface area
How much ground the water covers when you look from above. Think of the lake’s footprint.
Volume
All the water held in the lake, from the surface to the bottom. A cubic metre is a box 1 metre on each side, holding 1,000 litres.
Maximum and average depth
Maximum depth is the deepest single point. Average depth is how deep the water would be everywhere if the bottom were flat and the surface stayed the same size.
Shoreline
The edge where water meets land. Bays and narrow arms can give a lake a long shoreline without a large surface.
Watershed
The surrounding land that drains towards the lake. Rain falling there can reach it through streams and runoff.
Elevation
How high the lake’s surface sits above sea level. Depth measures down into the water; elevation measures up from sea level.
Median
The middle value when the lakes are put in order: half have a smaller value and half a larger one.

KEEP EXPLORING

40 facts about the lakes of Cajas

Browse the facts by subject. Depth and volume facts refer to the 201 surveyed lakes.

The inventory 2
  • The inventory includes 5,954 water bodies; 201 have depth and volume measurements.
  • The surveyed lakes are 3.4% of the inventory by number, but cover 61.8% of its water surface.
Surface area 8
  • Together, the water bodies cover 19.12 km² (1,912.4 ha).
  • 5,689 water bodies (95.5%) are smaller than 1 ha.
  • Only 265 reach 1 ha, yet they contain 86% of the water surface.
  • 3,089 water bodies (51.9%) are smaller than 100 m².
  • The median area is 92.8 m²: the area of a square 9.6 m on each side.
  • Only 46 water bodies reach 10 ha.
  • Luspa is the largest lake in the inventory, at 77.5 ha.
  • Toreadora is only 2.3% larger than Llaviucu at the surface, but holds 35.3% more water.
Depth 7
  • Oso Huayco has the deepest measured point: 75.5 m.
  • Hunanchi has the greatest average depth among the surveyed lakes: 30.6 m. Its deepest point reaches 63 m.
  • Toreadora averages 11.3 m deep and reaches 29.2 m at its deepest point.
  • Llaviucu averages 8.6 m deep and reaches 16.5 m at its deepest point.
  • Luspa is deeper on average than Oso Huayco: 28.9 m versus 21.8 m.
  • 30 surveyed lakes reach at least 20 m; 8 reach at least 50 m.
  • Across the surveyed lakes, the median maximum depth is 5.97 m and the median average depth is 1.89 m.
Water volume 4
  • The 201 surveyed lakes together hold 139.41 million m³ of water.
  • The ten largest surveyed volumes contain 63.9% of that water.
  • Luspa alone holds 22.37 million m³, or 16% of the surveyed total.
  • Luspa holds approximately 10.2 Toreadoras worth of water.
Familiar comparisons 4
  • Oso Huayco’s deepest point is equivalent to 25.2 storeys, allowing 3 m per storey.
  • Toreadora holds about 874 pools of 50 × 25 × 2 m. Luspa holds about 8,948.
  • Spread over a 1 km × 1 km square, Toreadora’s water would be 2.19 m deep; Luspa’s would be 22.37 m deep.
  • Luspa’s surface equals about 108.5 football pitches of 105 × 68 m.
Elevation 6
  • Lake elevations range from 3,152 m to 4,424 m above sea level.
  • 3,058 water bodies (51.4%) lie from 3,800 m to below 4,000 m, containing 53.3% of the water surface.
  • 1,879 water bodies (31.6%) lie at or above 4,000 m.
  • The median water-body elevation is 3,937 m.
  • Llaviucu is the lowest, at 3,152 m. The highest inventory entry, unnamed lake 71, lies at about 4,424 m.
  • Juan Pasana is the highest surveyed lake, at 4,294 m.
Shape and shoreline 5
  • The inventory’s individual shoreline lengths add to 776.69 km.
  • Oso Huayco has the longest recorded shoreline: 8.8 km.
  • Oso Huayco has 3.1 times the shoreline of a circle with the same area; Toreadora has 2.6 times.
  • Toreadora has 71.5% more shoreline than Llaviucu.
  • Quinuas Cocha’s length-to-width ratio is 5.52:1; Hunanchi’s is 1.13:1.
Watersheds 4
  • Llaviucu’s reported watershed covers 47.7 km², about 253 times the lake’s surface.
  • Toreadora’s reported watershed covers 5.26 km², about 27.2 times the lake’s surface.
  • Llaviucu’s reported watershed is 9.1 times Toreadora’s, despite their similar lake surfaces.
  • Luspa’s watershed-to-lake area ratio is 24.9:1; Oso Huayco’s is 12.1:1.