Lake Amatitlán (''Lago Amatitlán'', ) is a lake located within the Amatitlán

caldera A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcanic eruption. An eruption that ejects large volumes of magma over a short period of time can cause significant detriment to the str ...

in south-central

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

, fairly close to

Guatemala City Guatemala City (, also known colloquially by the nickname Guate), is the Capital city, national capital and largest city of the Guatemala, Republic of Guatemala. It is also the Municipalities of Guatemala, municipal capital of the Guatemala Depa ...

. It lies in the central highlands, 1,186 m (3890 feet) above sea level. Its maximum depth is 33 m (108 feet) and an average of 18 m (59 feet). The lake is 11 km (7 miles) long and 3 km (2 miles) across at its widest; with an area of and a water volume of 0.286 cubic kilometers. The lake's primary inflow is the Villalobos River, and the lake is drained by the Michatoya River, an important tributary of the María Linda River. The town of Amatitlán is situated at the head of the Michatoya river. A dam with a railway on top was constructed at the narrowest point, thus effectively dividing the lake into two water bodies with different physical, chemical and biological characteristics: a north-western and a south-eastern basin. The lake was used as a water source, for navigation and transportation, sightseeing and tourism. Until around 2010 when rapid

pollution Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause harm. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the component ...

turned the lake green and the shores are full of plastic. The local population has tried to clean it but the lake remains heavily polluted and unswimmable.

History

As of 1850, the lake was used as a

bathing Bathing is the immersion of the body, wholly or partially, usually in water, but often in another medium such as hot air. It is most commonly practised as part of personal cleansing, and less frequently for relaxation or as a leisure activity. ...

lake and a

resort A resort (North American English) is a self-contained commercial establishment that aims to provide most of a vacationer's needs. This includes food, drink, swimming, accommodation, sports, entertainment and shopping, on the premises. A hotel ...

area in the spring. Nearby

hot spring A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a Spring (hydrology), spring produced by the emergence of Geothermal activity, geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow ...

s were also popular with visitors.

Economy

In the mid 19th century, the lake was plentiful with crawfish,

sardine Sardine and pilchard are common names for various species of small, oily forage fish in the herring suborder Clupeoidei. The term "sardine" was first used in English during the early 15th century; a somewhat dubious etymology says it com ...

s, and other seafood. The seafood was captured and sold for the local region, as seafood was rarely imported into the area.

Pollution

Amatitlán lake's catchment area includes

. Each year large quantities of untreated sewage, industrial waste and a staggering 500,000 tons of

sediment Sediment is a solid material that is transported to a new location where it is deposited. It occurs naturally and, through the processes of weathering and erosion, is broken down and subsequently sediment transport, transported by the action of ...

are carried into the lake through the Villalobos River. Specifically, the lake takes in about 75,000 tons of waste from Guatemala City every year. This has contributed to high levels of

of the lake's water, and accelerated

eutrophication Eutrophication is a general term describing a process in which nutrients accumulate in a body of water, resulting in an increased growth of organisms that may deplete the oxygen in the water; ie. the process of too many plants growing on the s ...

and

siltation Siltation is water pollution caused by particulate terrestrial clastic material, with a particle size dominated by silt or clay. It refers both to the increased concentration of suspended sediments and to the increased accumulation (temporary o ...

. This has seriously affected the lake's former function as a source of drinking water and irrigation, and reduced its recreational functions. In the early 1990s under President Jorge Serrano Elias, a deal was made with a German company to use specialized machinery to clean the lake. But while the lake was already half way cleaned, corrupt political rivals staged a coup with the help of Soap and detergent manufacturers who were contaminating the lake along with other Guatemalan businesses and kicked him out of the office and the deal was canceled, and the lake was never cleaned and all other attempts to clean it have been futile. In early 2015, the Lake Amatitlan Authority commission granted a contract to the Israeli company M. Tarcic Engineering Ltd. for 137.8 million quetzals, to purchase 93 000 liters of an alleged decontaminant that it would apply to Lake Amatitlán. However, after complains and legal action from scientists, academia, politicians and environmentalists who questioned the Israeli company contract, then vice president Roxana Baldetti suspended the project on 30 March 2015 and froze both the payment to the company and any decontaminant pouring into the lake. Furthermore, Baldetti was forced to resign in early May 2015 due to the La Linea corruption case.

Gallery

Amatitlan1897.jpg, 1897 Amatitlan1900.jpg, Early 20th century Lagoamatitlan.jpg, Lake model in «La Aurora» zoo in Guatemala City, ca. 1925.

Notes and references

References

Bibliography

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External links

Instituto Nacional de Sismología, Vulcanología, Meteorología e Hidrolagía (INSIVUMEH)

Global Nature Fund - Lake Amatitlan - Guatemala
{{DEFAULTSORT:Amatitlan Lakes of Guatemala Volcanic crater lakes Calderas of Central America Volcanoes of Guatemala