The geography and climate of Bolivia has led to the formation a wide variety of lakes, from salt saturated lakes in the Altiplano to oxbow lakes in the eastern lowlands. Many of Bolivias lakes are formed only seasonally during the austral summer and remains for the rest of the year as salt flats in the altiplano or

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

s in the eastern lowlands.

Lakes in the Altiplano basin

All major lakes in the Altiplano belong to the same endorheic basin that when supplied with enough water ends at

Salar de Uyuni Salar de Uyuni (or "Salar de Tunupa") is the world's largest salt flat, or playa, at over in area. It is in the Daniel Campos Province in Potosí in southwest Bolivia, near the crest of the Andes at an elevation of above sea level. The Sal ...

. Many of the lakes in the altiplano show large fluctuations in area like

Poopó Lake Poopó may refer to: * Poopó Lake, Oruro, Bolivia * Poopó Province, Oruro, Bolivia * Poopó Municipality Poopó Municipality is the first municipal section of the Poopó Province in the Oruro Department, Bolivia. Its capital is Poopó. Ge ...

that has dried up several times through history. The salt flats of Coipasa and Uyuni have only very small surfaces where water can be observed through all year but are covered each year in summer by up to one meter of water.

Lakes in the lowlands

Lakes by department

Example

Notes

{{South America topic, List of lakes in *

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 ...

Lakes A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...