Yawarkucha or Yawar Kucha (

Kichwa Kichwa (, , also Spanish ) is a Quechuan language that includes all Quechua varieties of Ecuador and Colombia (''Inga''), as well as extensions into Peru. It has an estimated half million speakers. The most widely spoken dialects are Chimborazo ...

''yawar'' blood, ''kucha'' lake, "blood lake"), hispanicized spellings ''Yaguarcocha, Yahuarcocha'') is a lake in

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

located in the eastern outskirts of the city of Ibarra in

Imbabura Province Imbabura () is a province located in the Andes of northern Ecuador. The capital is Ibarra. The people of the province speak Spanish, and a large portion of the population also speaks the Imbaburan Kichwa variety of the Quechua language. The s ...

Ibarra Canton Ibarra Canton is a canton of Ecuador, located in Imbabura Province. Its capital is the town of Ibarra. Its population in the 2001 census was 153,256 and 181,175 in the 2010 census. The area of the canton is . Ibarra is located in the Andes reg ...

. The lake is about long and wide and has an elevation of above sea level. The lake was formed from glacial meltwater about 10,000 BCE. The scenic lake is a popular tourist attraction. Yawarkucha acquired its name as a result of a battle and massacre which allegedly took place here during the conquest of the area by the

Inca Empire The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, (Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The admin ...

in the late 15th or early 16th century. The local

chiefdom A chiefdom is a form of hierarchical political organization in non-industrial societies usually based on kinship, and in which formal leadership is monopolized by the legitimate senior members of select families or 'houses'. These elites form a ...

called the Caranqui fiercely resisted the Inca invasion of their territory. The Inca Emperor,

Huayna Capac Huayna Capac (with many alternative transliterations; 1464/1468–1524) was the third Sapan Inka of the Inca Empire, born in Tumipampa sixth of the Hanan dynasty, and eleventh of the Inca civilization. Subjects commonly approached Sapa Inkas addi ...

(ruled c. 1493-1525) finally achieved victory near the present-day city of Ibarra. According to

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

chronicler

Miguel Cabello de Balboa Miguel Cabello de Balboa (c. 1535 — 1608) was a Spanish secular priest and writer. Early years Miguel Cabello de Balboa was a great-nephew of Captain Vasco Núñez de Balboa, the first European to have lead an expedition to encounter the Paci ...

, Huayna Capac ordered the massacre of the male population of Caranqui in retribution for its resistance. The massacre of thousands of men took place on the shores of a lake, known thereafter as Yawarkucha or "Blood Lake."Bray, Tamara L. and Echeverría Almeida, José (2014), "The Late Imperial Site of Inca-Caranqui, Northern highland Ecuador at the End of Empire", ''Nampo Pacha, journal of Andean Archaeology'', Vol. 34, No. 2, p. 179-181

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Lakes of Ecuador Geography of Imbabura Province {{Ecuador-stub

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