Lake Miguel Alemán is in the

Papaloapan Region The Cuenca del Papaloapan Region is in the north of the state of Oaxaca, Mexico where the foothills of the Sierra Madre de Oaxaca meet the coastal plain of Veracruz. The principal city is San Juan Bautista Tuxtepec, the second largest in Oaxaca st ...

of northern Oaxaca state, Mexico. It was formed by the

Miguel Alemán Dam The Miguel Alemán Dam is on the Tonto River in the Papaloapan Region of Oaxaca state in southern Mexico, just upstream from the town of Temascal or Nuevo Soyaltepec, forming the Miguel Alemán Lake with an area of 47,800 hectares. The dam opera ...

on the

Tonto River The Tonto River is a river of Oaxaca, Mexico that flows from the mountains of Zongolica. It is dammed by the Miguel Alemán Dam near the town of Temascal or Nuevo Soyaltepec, forming the Miguel Alemán Lake. Below the dam, the river flows southea ...

, and is connected by a channel to the reservoir of the

Cerro de Oro Dam The Cerro de Oro Dam ( en, Gold Hill Dam), also called the Miguel de la Madrid Hurtado Dam, is on the Santo Domingo River in the San Juan Bautista Tuxtepec municipality of the Papaloapan Region of Oaxaca state in southern Mexico. The dam operates ...

on the

Santo Domingo River Santo Domingo River is a river of Venezuela. It is part of the Orinoco River basin. See also *List of rivers of Venezuela This is a list of rivers in Venezuela. By drainage basin This list is arranged by drainage basin, with respective tributa ...

. The Tonto and Santo Domingo rivers join downstream of the dams to form the

Papaloapan River The Papaloapan River () is one of the main rivers of the Political divisions of Mexico, Mexican state of Veracruz (state), Veracruz. Its name comes from the Nahuatl ''papaloapan'' meaning "river of the Butterfly, butterflies". In 1517, Juan de Gri ...

. The lake is scenic, providing income from fishing and tourism. The northwestern shore and islands have been declared a nature reserve. Commercial fisheries produce approximately 700 tons per year. The hilltops in the area covered by the lake are now the San Miguel Soyaltepec and Isabel Maria Islands. The reservoir contains catfish, tilapia, and carp and other types of fish. Tourist activities include sport fishing, water skiing, rowing and boat tours provided by the local fishermen. Important boat races are sometimes held in May. In recent years there has been a re-evaluation of the Papaloapan Project's impact on the environment.Patrick H. Cosby, "Leviathan in the Tropics: A postcolonial environmental history of the Papaloapan Projects in Mexico." PhD diss. University of Florida 2011.

References

Reservoirs in Mexico Landforms of Oaxaca Tourist attractions in Oaxaca Papaloapan River {{Oaxaca-geo-stub