Good find on the area Tek and g. This area has the same characteristics as the area I proposed much further south - but is much closer to the Bolivian town of Desaguadero. These areas appear to be old lake bed, or at least areas with very high water tables. And they have many semi-circular depressions similar to the crater. It looks like any time you dig down more than a few meters, you will strike water.

Questions remaining...

1. Did a meteor cause the crater in this case? There was some meteoric material supposedly found at this location - but was its origin really from the pit?

2. Did the water boil for a few minutes? Was the heat caused by the meteor strike? Meteorites found shortly after they fall often have frost coatings. While the surface heats during entry, that ablates and the core of the meteorite still maintains some of the cold of deep space. Could frictional heating of the crater formation heat water that much? I doubt it. The water is not boiling now - there is no detailed information on its current temperature. My first thoughts were that perhaps the meteor struck a geothermal source, but I have no idea about geothermal features in that area. There is a mountain to the north that the GE Geographic Features layer has 5 labels on that certainly looks like an old eroded volcanic cone and could be a source of geothermal features. But a geothermal source would not likely stop being hot after a short time.

3. Was the illness real or psychosomatic? Latest reports show no evidence of illness. If the crater formed suddenly and subterranean gasses were released (hydrogen sulphide is found in geothermal areas and is a product of lake bottom sediments) they could make some people feel ill if gas concentration was great enough. The area is over 12,000 feet in altitude and perhaps human physiology is more sensitive to such things at that altitude.

4. Are some people hoping for some publicity and trying to attract tourists? I'm just sayin...

I guess we'll have to wait for further developments.

EDIT: And here are a few. Read the latest article from the Los Angeles Times HERE. From the article:

Quote:

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With the danger seemingly past, some here are thinking big: Why not make the whole deal a tourist site, a small museum and side trip for the many visitors headed to Lake Titicaca and Bolivia?

"Now that various experts from Japan and other countries have assured us there is nothing bad, we have decided this belongs to us," said Benito Mosaja Pari, 56, who called himself the village lieutenant governor.

"We're going to dig it out. The scientists tell us this was part of a world that fell apart. It has some value.

"And now it's ours."

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