Chungará Lake
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Chungará is a lake situated in the extreme north of Chile at an elevation of , in the Altiplano of Arica y Parinacota Region in the Lauca National Park. It has a surface area of about and has a maximum depth of about . It receives inflow through the Río Chungara with some minor additional inflows, and loses most of its water to
evaporation Evaporation is a type of vaporization that occurs on the surface of a liquid as it changes into the gas phase. High concentration of the evaporating substance in the surrounding gas significantly slows down evaporation, such as when humidi ...
; seepage into the Laguna Quta Qutani plays a minor role. The lake formed between 17,000 and 8,000 years ago when the volcano
Parinacota Parinacota (in hispanicized spelling), Parina Quta or Parinaquta (Aymara, ''parina'' flamingo, ''quta'' lake, "flamingo lake", other hispanicized spellings ''Parinaccota, Parinajota'') may refer to: Lakes * Parinaquta (Carabaya), in Peru, Puno R ...
collapsed and the debris from the collapse dammed the
Lauca River The Lauca River is a binational river. It originates in the Chilean Altiplano of the Arica and Parinacota Region, crosses the Andes and empties into Coipasa Lake in Bolivia. The upper reach of the river lies within the boundaries of Lauca Nation ...
. Since then the lake has progressively grown owing to decreasing seepage. The lake is part of the Lauca National Park; a planned diversion of the lake's waters into the Azapa Valley being abandoned after a decision by the
Chilean Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Chile is the highest court in Chile. It also administers the lower courts in the nation. It is located in the capital Santiago. In the Chilean system, the court lacks the broader power of judicial review—it cannot set bindin ...
.


Name

The name ''Chungará'' or ''Chungara'' is derived from the Aymara language and has several different meanings: , a type of bush or
moss Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and hor ...
plus the
suffix In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns, adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs. Suffixes can carry ...
that signifies "covered by"; but this meaning appears to have fallen into disuse. A second meaning is "beard" which together with the suffix means "bearded" and refers to a myth of a bearded man that came to the area and destroyed a community with fire.


Geography

Chungará Lake is located in the northernmost part of Chile and close to the border with
Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...
. It lies at an elevation of in the Chilean Altiplano; it is one of the highest lakes in the world and the second highest-largest after Lake Titicaca in the Altiplano. The lake is part of the Lauca National Park, a nationally and internationally designated
protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...
, and a
CONAF The National Forest Corporation or CONAF (Corporación Nacional Forestal) is a Chilean private, non-profit organization, through which the Chilean state contributes to the development and sustainable management of the country's forest resources. C ...
refuge lies close to the western shores of the lake. There is also a
marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships o ...
and a pumping plant in the northwestern area of Chungará Lake. Chile Route 11 passes by the southern and western shores of Chungará Lake. The lake is about wide and covers an irregular surface of about -, with two large embayments in the northeastern and the southern sectors of the lake and a narrower one in its northwestern corner. Its deepest point is - deep and lies in the northwestern sector of the lake. The northern and western side of the lake have steep shores, while the southern and eastern ones are much more gentle; the eastern shore is covered by a large alluvial fan and the southern one by sediments deposited by the Río Chungara tributary. The lakefloor features platforms, flat areas and sloping areas. northwest from Chungará Lake lies the Lagunas Cotacotani. The volcanoes
Parinacota Parinacota (in hispanicized spelling), Parina Quta or Parinaquta (Aymara, ''parina'' flamingo, ''quta'' lake, "flamingo lake", other hispanicized spellings ''Parinaccota, Parinajota'') may refer to: Lakes * Parinaquta (Carabaya), in Peru, Puno R ...
() of Pliocene to Holocene age and Ajoya () of Miocene age lie north and west of the lake, respectively; the northern shore of the lake is formed by
lava flow Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or und ...
s from Parinacota volcano. While Parinacota is well preserved, Ajoya and Quisiquisini () on the eastern shore of the lake are moderately eroded. Farther south from Chungará Lake lies the high
Guallatiri Guallatiri is a high volcano in Chile. It is located southwest of the Nevados de Quimsachata volcanic group and is sometimes considered to be part of that group. It is a stratovolcano with numerous fumaroles around the summit. The summit may b ...
.


Hydrology

The water temperature reaches its maximum during March with and a minimum in January with according to one study, while temperatures on the lakefloor range between . Water levels vary by between seasons and fluctuations of have been recorded. The present-day water levels are the highest in the history of the lake and there is no evidence of former lake highstands, and the depth of the lake has generally increased during the course of its history. There are some long term fluctuations in water levels, including a deepening episode during the latest Pleistocene and three or four episodes of water level lowstand during the middle and late Holocene at about 10,500, 9,800, 7,800 and 6,700 calibrated radiocarbon years ago. Since about 5,000 calibrated radiocarbon years ago lake levels have been high. The Lake Chungará is part of a large high-elevation
watershed Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...
in the Altiplano, bordered on the west by the
Lauca River The Lauca River is a binational river. It originates in the Chilean Altiplano of the Arica and Parinacota Region, crosses the Andes and empties into Coipasa Lake in Bolivia. The upper reach of the river lies within the boundaries of Lauca Nation ...
watershed and on the east by the Bolivian frontier; the watershed is surrounded by snow-covered volcanoes. The largest tributary of the lake is the Río Chungara with a discharge of about which originates on Guallatiri volcano and drains the area of the
Nevados de Quimsachata Kimsa Chata or Kimsachata (Aymara and Quechua ''kimsa'' three, Pukina ''chata'' mountain,Teofilo Laime Ajacopa, Lengua Pukina en Jesús de Machaca, referring to Alfredo Torero ("Reflexión acerca del pukina escrito por Alfredo Torero ... Pukina ...
(
Acotango Acotango is the central and highest of a group of stratovolcanoes straddling the border of Bolivia and Chile. It is high. The group is known as Kimsa Chata and consists of three mountains: Acotango, Umurata () north of it and Capurata () south ...
, Capurata and
Umurata Umurata is a mountain in the Andes, about 5,717 m (18,757 ft) high, situated in the Cordillera Occidental on the border of Bolivia and Chile. It is located in the Arica and Parinacota Region of Chile and in the Oruro Department of Boli ...
); this river contributes about 4/5 of the water to the lake and enters Chungará Lake on its southeastern corner through a river delta. Other tributaries are the Chachapay, Mal Paso (), Ajata () and Sopocalane ( only during wet periods) creeks which originate on
Choquelimpie Choquelimpie is a high volcano in Chile. It is constructed from several separate layers of andesite and dacite on top of Tertiary and Precambrian layers. The volcano was active over six million years ago, with the neighbouring volcano Ajoya active ...
/Ajoya volcano, which have formed river deltas where they enter the lake; some of the deltas are submerged. In addition,
spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season), a season of the year * Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy * Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water * Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a ...
s supply water into the lake from its western and northern shores where volcanoes border the lake. There are no inflows on the eastern side of Chungará Lake. Chungará Lake has no outlet; its waters evaporate at a rate of about and also seep into the groundwater table at a rate of . The water chemistry of the
Cotacotani Lake Laguna de Cotacotani (Hispanicized expression) or Quta Qutani (Aymara ''quta'' lake, the reduplication signifies there is a group or complex of something, ''-ni'' is a suffix to indicate ownership, "the one with a group of lakes" ) is a lakeIt is ...
s imply that they receive water from Chungará Lake at a rate of about ; this constitutes over half of the inflow to the Cotacotani Lakes. The role of this underground outflow has progressively decreased through the history of the lake as silt has accumulated in the breccia through which the groundwater seeps out. The Cotacotani Lakes eventually drain into the
Lauca River The Lauca River is a binational river. It originates in the Chilean Altiplano of the Arica and Parinacota Region, crosses the Andes and empties into Coipasa Lake in Bolivia. The upper reach of the river lies within the boundaries of Lauca Nation ...
. The total volume of the lake is about . Chungará Lake is polymictic/well mixed and its waters transparent enough that sunlight can reach most of the lake floor. The waters of the lake are slightly
alkaline In chemistry, an alkali (; from ar, القلوي, al-qaly, lit=ashes of the saltwort) is a base (chemistry), basic, ionic compound, ionic salt (chemistry), salt of an alkali metal or an alkaline earth metal. An alkali can also be defined as ...
and saline and show influence of
dolomite Dolomite may refer to: *Dolomite (mineral), a carbonate mineral *Dolomite (rock), also known as dolostone, a sedimentary carbonate rock *Dolomite, Alabama, United States, an unincorporated community *Dolomite, California, United States, an unincor ...
rocks. This lake chemistry is homogeneous throughout the lake and the lake waters are subject to strong currents at the surface.


Geology

The lake was formed by volcanic-tectonic phenomena; specifically, a major collapse of the
Parinacota Parinacota (in hispanicized spelling), Parina Quta or Parinaquta (Aymara, ''parina'' flamingo, ''quta'' lake, "flamingo lake", other hispanicized spellings ''Parinaccota, Parinajota'') may refer to: Lakes * Parinaquta (Carabaya), in Peru, Puno R ...
volcano dammed a former Rio Lauca, forming Chungará Lake, at some time between 8,000 and 15,000 - 17,000 years ago. This collapse involved about and covered about with debris; before the collapse took place the lakefloor of Chungará Lake consisted of alluvial and river sediments left by the Rio Lauca which drained the area. Upon damming, water from the river accumulated and formed Chungará Lake. The exact time of the collapse is controversial. Faulting also played a minor role in the formation of the lake basin, with a southwest-northeast trending fault disrupting sediments in the northwestern sector of the lake. Since the birth of Chungará Lake, about of sediment have accumulated on its floor. Volcanism in the area has been ongoing since the Paleozoic and has continued until recent times, which has influenced Chungará Lake. A number of volcanoes such as Parinacota, Ajoya and Quisiquisini grew on a Miocene ignimbrite
basement A basement or cellar is one or more floors of a building that are completely or partly below the ground floor. It generally is used as a utility space for a building, where such items as the furnace, water heater, breaker panel or fuse box, ...
that crops out east of the lake; of these only Parinacota has been active in the Holocene, depositing tephra within the lake.


Climate

Temperatures at the lake average , fluctuating between at day and at night. The climate of Chungará Lake is arid and annual precipitation on Chungará Lake amounts to about , considerably smaller than the evaporation rate. This precipitation occurs during summer when moisture is transported into the region from the Amazon and the Atlantic Ocean; this is known as the "Bolivian Winter". Annual precipitation varies under the influence of the " ENSO" phenomenon. In addition, the area is characterized by a high
solar insolation Solar irradiance is the power per unit area (surface power density) received from the Sun in the form of electromagnetic radiation in the wavelength range of the measuring instrument. Solar irradiance is measured in watts per square metre (W/m ...
.


Human use

The area of the lake is inhabited by Aymara people who engage in
animal husbandry Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, selective breeding, and the raising of livestock. Husbandry has a long history, starti ...
, using alpacas, cattle, llamas and sheep and live on farms and pastoral refuges. File:Parinacota over Chungará (26770009677).jpg, The marina of Chungará Lake File:Lago Chungara - Región de Arica.jpg, Road and roadsign on Chungará Lake File:20120623 Chile 2752 Volcano Parinacota (7704190564).jpg, Road on Chungará Lake


Environmental issues

In the 1970s water was pumped from Chungará Lake to the Azapa Valley to allow for irrigation, but quickly ceased when water levels dropped and the flora and fauna of the lake were damaged. For this purpose, the Canal Chungará was built by the Chilean Ministry of Public Works to transfer water into the Laguna Cotacotani which is the headwater of the Lauca-Azapa system. This project was opposed by environmentalists. On 19 December 1985 the lake was the subject of a major legal case when the
Chilean Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Chile is the highest court in Chile. It also administers the lower courts in the nation. It is located in the capital Santiago. In the Chilean system, the court lacks the broader power of judicial review—it cannot set bindin ...
ruled that international obligations such as the CITES need to be considered by the Chilean government and prohibited the use of the waters of Chungará Lake; the ruling by disallowing the use of the waters of Chungará Lake forced the Arica y Parinacota Region to seek other sources of water for the growing economy. Accumulation of rubbish in the area of Chungará Lake has become a major issue, as a lot of waste is discarded by for example drivers on the
Chungara–Tambo Quemado Chungara–Tambo Quemado ( es, Paso Chungara–Tambo Quemado) is a mountain pass through the Cordillera Occidental of the Andes along the border between Chile and Bolivia. Chungara–Tambo Quemado is one of the principal Chile-Bolivia passes ...
road between Chile and Bolivia. The Chilean government has thus organized cleanup operations to remove some of the waste.


Biology

The lake hosts a diverse plant and animal community. The landscape around the lake includes wetlands known as '' bofedales''; otherwise the vegetation in the region of the lake consists mainly of ''
Polylepis ''Polylepis'' is a genus comprising 28 recognised shrub and tree species, that are endemic to the mid- and high-elevation regions of the tropical Andes. This group is unique in the rose family in that it is predominantly wind-pollinated. They are ...
'' dwarf trees,
shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...
s and
tussock Tussock may refer to: * Tussock grass, a group of species in the family Poaceae *Floating island * Lymantriinae, called tussock moths or tussocks See also * Hassock (disambiguation) Hassock may refer to: * Kneeler, a cushion or a piece of f ...
grasses. The shoreline vegetation draws birds in such as
Andean gull The Andean gull (''Chroicocephalus serranus'') is a species of gull in the family Laridae. As is the case with many gulls, it has traditionally been placed in the genus ''Larus''. It is found in the Andes in mountainous regions of Argentina, Bol ...
, Chilean flamingo, crested duck,
giant coot The giant coot (''Fulica gigantea'') is a species of bird in subfamily Rallinae of family Rallidae, the rails, gallinules, and coots. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Peru.HBW and BirdLife International (2021) Handbook of the Birds ...
and
Puna plover The puna plover (''Charadrius alticola'') is a species of bird in subfamily Charadriinae of family Charadriidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Peru.HBW and BirdLife International (2022) Handbook of the Birds of the World and Bir ...
. File:Fauna típica de Lago Chungará..JPG, Birdlife, including Chilean flamingo, at Chungará Lake File:Bolivia (4038147626).jpg, Shoreline vegetation and landscape Aided by the highly transparent waters, large amounts of
aquatic plant Aquatic plants are plants that have adapted to living in aquatic environments (saltwater or freshwater). They are also referred to as hydrophytes or macrophytes to distinguish them from algae and other microphytes. A macrophyte is a plant that ...
s live in Chungará Lake and are particularly noticeable on the southern shores, where ''
Myriophyllum elatinoides ''Myriophyllum'' (water milfoil) is a genus of about 69 species of freshwater aquatic plants, with a cosmopolitan distribution. The center of diversity for ''Myriophyllum'' is Australia with 43 recognized species (37 endemic). These submersed ...
'' and '' Potamogeton filifolius'' occur. The shores are inhabited by
amphibian Amphibians are tetrapod, four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the Class (biology), class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terres ...
s such as ''
Rhinella ''Rhinella'', commonly known as South American toads, beaked toads or Rio Viejo toads, is a genus of true toads native to Neotropical parts of Mexico, Central and South America. Additionally, the cane toad has been introduced to Australia, the Ca ...
'', ''
Pleurodema ''Pleurodema'' is a genus of leptodactylid frogs from South America. They are sometimes known under the common name four-eyed frogs, although this name can also refer to a particular species, '' Pleurodema bibroni''. The common name is a referen ...
'' and '' Telmatobius'', and by
mollusc Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000  extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is esti ...
s and
turbellaria The Turbellaria are one of the traditional sub-divisions of the phylum Platyhelminthes (flatworms), and include all the sub-groups that are not exclusively parasitic. There are about 4,500 species, which range from to large freshwater forms more ...
such as ''
Ancylus ''Ancylus'' is a genus of very small, freshwater, air-breathing limpets. They are aquatic pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the tribe Ancylini within the family Planorbidae, the ram's horn snails and their allies.Bouchet, P.; Rosenberg, G. (2 ...
'', ''
Pisidium ''Pisidium'' is a genus of very small or minute freshwater clams known as pill clams or pea clams, aquatic bivalve molluscs in the family Sphaeriidae, the pea clams and fingernail clams. In some bivalve classification systems, the family Spha ...
'' and ''
Taphius In Greek mythology, Taphius (Ancient Greek: Τάφιος) founded the city Taphos on the island of the same name, and was its king. He also gave his name to the Taphians, a people that inhabited Taphos and nearby islands, which formed part of Od ...
''. The
phytoplankton Phytoplankton () are the autotrophic (self-feeding) components of the plankton community and a key part of ocean and freshwater ecosystems. The name comes from the Greek words (), meaning 'plant', and (), meaning 'wanderer' or 'drifter'. Ph ...
of the lake is dominated by
diatom A diatom (Neo-Latin ''diatoma''), "a cutting through, a severance", from el, διάτομος, diátomos, "cut in half, divided equally" from el, διατέμνω, diatémno, "to cut in twain". is any member of a large group comprising sev ...
s in winter and by
chlorophyceae The Chlorophyceae are one of the classes of green algae, distinguished mainly on the basis of ultrastructural morphology. They are usually green due to the dominance of pigments chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b. The chloroplast may be discoid, p ...
in summer. Algae include both the large '' Cladophora'' and ''
Nostoc ''Nostoc'', also known as star jelly, troll’s butter, spit of moon, fallen star, witch's butter (not to be confused with the fungi commonly known as witches' butter), and witch’s jelly, is the most common genus of cyanobacteria found in vari ...
'' genera and the small ''
Botryococcus braunii ''Botryococcus braunii'' is a green, pyramid-shaped planktonic microalga that is of potentially great importance in the field of biotechnology. Colonies held together by a lipid biofilm matrix can be found in temperate or tropical oligotrophic l ...
'', ''
Cocconeis placentula ''Cocconeis'' is a genus of diatoms. Members of the genus are elliptically shaped diatoms. The green alga '' Cladophora'' is frequently covered with ''Cocconeis'', as are individuals of Antarctic minke whales, often found with orange-brown to ...
'', '' Cyclotella andina'' and '' Nephroclamys subsolitaria''; the second and the third are
diatom A diatom (Neo-Latin ''diatoma''), "a cutting through, a severance", from el, διάτομος, diátomos, "cut in half, divided equally" from el, διατέμνω, diatémno, "to cut in twain". is any member of a large group comprising sev ...
s.
Copepod Copepods (; meaning "oar-feet") are a group of small crustaceans found in nearly every freshwater and saltwater habitat (ecology), habitat. Some species are planktonic (inhabiting sea waters), some are benthos, benthic (living on the ocean floor) ...
s such as
calanoid Calanoida is an order of copepods, a group of arthropods commonly found as zooplankton. The order includes around 46 families with about 1800 species of both marine and freshwater copepods between them. Description Calanoids can be distinguis ...
s and cladocera make up the zooplankton. Microbial colonies occur on the shores of Chungará Lake.


Fish

The most important and only native fish in Chungará Lake are two
endemics Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...
; the pupfish '' Orestias chungarensis'' and catfish '' Trichomycterus chungaraensis''. ''Orestias chungarensis'' of Chungará Lake is most closely related to other ''
Orestias Orestias ( el, Ὀρεστιάς) was an ancient Greek settlement next to the Maritsa (or Evros) river, near or at the site of present-day Edirne, and close to the current border between Turkey and Greece. Legends claim that Orestias was founded ...
'' species in the Lauca National Park but also those found in Salar de Ascotan and Salar de Carcote. This reflects that these waterbodies and the
Lauca River The Lauca River is a binational river. It originates in the Chilean Altiplano of the Arica and Parinacota Region, crosses the Andes and empties into Coipasa Lake in Bolivia. The upper reach of the river lies within the boundaries of Lauca Nation ...
were once joined by the former
Lake Tauca Lake Tauca is a former lake in the Altiplano of Bolivia. It is also known as Lake Pocoyu for its constituent lakes: Lake Poopó, Salar de Coipasa and Salar de Uyuni. The lake covered large parts of the southern Altiplano between the Eastern Cordi ...
. In Chungará Lake these fish occur at elevations of over ; ''Orestias'' is among the fish with the highest occurrences in the world. They are further considered to be threatened species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and the Chilean National Museum of Natural History. The
rainbow trout The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead (sometimes called "steelhead trout") is an anadromous (sea-run) form of the coasta ...
also lives in the lake and is considered an
invasive species An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species ad ...
there as it feeds on the threatened ''Orestias'' fish; the Chilean government has thus envisaged to take measures to
eradicate The word "Eradication" is derived from Latin word "radix" which means "root". It may refer to: *Eradication of infectious diseases (human), the reduction of the global incidence of an infectious disease in humans to zero *Eradication of infectiou ...
the fish from the lake.


See also

*
K'isi K'isini K'isi K'isini (Aymara and Quechua expression, ''k'isi'' a stipa variety, the reduplication signifies there is a group or complex of something, the Aymara suffix ''-ni'' indicates ownership, "the one with a group of ''stipa''", Hispanicized spel ...


References


Sources

* * * * * * * * *


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chungara Lake Lakes of Chile Lakes of Arica y Parinacota Region Lava dammed lakes