Don Wood – MessageToEagle.com – Unfortunately we may not enjoy the beautiful San Rafael waterfall in Ecuador anymore. For some unknown reason, a giant sinkhole suddenly appeared in the Coca River a few meters before the falls and diverted the watercourse.
The tallest waterfall in Ecuador is now part of history and the cause of the sinkhole is under investigation.
According to NASA’s Earth Observatory, the once-impressive waterfall stopped flowing on February 2.
San Rafael waterfall on November 28, 2012. Credit: NASA
Some geologists think the deformation occurred naturally, while other researchers suspect it may be tied to the new construction of the country’s largest hydroelectric plant built by the Chinese company SinoHydro.
“A waterfall that has been there for thousands of years does not collapse, coincidentally, a few years after opening a hydroelectric project,” Emilio Cobo, coordinator at the South America Water Program with the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, told Mongabay.
“These are processes that are in scientific papers and there is sufficient evidence that a dam can cause effects of this type on a river,” Cobo added.
Waterfall before: Photo by Ministry of Tourism Ecuador. Waterfall after: Ministry of Environment Ecuador.
Cobo believes that there will be “very serious” impacts on infrastructure in the Coca River channel between the waterfall and the collection dam that could compromise the future of the hydropower plant. If the river depth increases by three or four meters, the structures of bridges will be compromised. Houses and other works could also be affected. He is sure there will be costs that the State will then have to deal with.
Cobo is concerned about the impacts the erosive processes may have on freshwater species such as fish and macroinvertebrates, the groups that have lost most species in the last 30 years, according to the IUCN Red List of endangered species. Many more could follow.
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Ecuador has more rivers per square kilometer than any country in the world, but Cobo says there is said a regional concern about what happened at San Rafael and the state of Latin America’s rivers.
Many populations depend on fish protein. The absence of fish means more hunting for monkeys and other species in the jungle. “In the scientific world, many do not see rivers as ecosystems, when in reality it is a reduced surface that ends up absorbing many of the environmental impacts,” Cobo says.
Geologist and former secretary of Natural Capital at Ecuador’s Ministry of Environment Alfredo Carrasco disagrees and says the sinkhole could also have been caused by seismic activity in the region.
“There are many quite intense earthquakes here. In March 1987, a very strong one appeared that caused tremendous damage to the trans-Ecuadorian oil pipeline that passes right through it. ‘For me, the phenomenon is eminently of natural origin,” Carrasco said.
No matter the cause, Ecuador’s tourism ministry does not plan to reconstruct the riverbed or restore San Rafael.
Written by Don Wood – MessageToEagle.com Staff