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 volcano eruption. When large volumes of magma are erupted over a short time, structural support for the rock above the magma chamber is ...

in south-central

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

, fairly close to Guatemala City. 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) wide; 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 The Michatoya River is a river in Guatemala. It begins in the town of Amatitlán, flowing out from the lake of the same name, through the towns of Palín, Masagua, and out into the Pacific Ocean. It has served as one of the principal sources of ...

, an important tributary of the María Linda River. The town of

Amatitlán Amatitlán () is a town, with a population of 98,176 (2018 census),Citypopulation.de
Population of cities & t ...

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 is used as a water source, for navigation and transportation, sightseeing and tourism (10,000 visitors annually), recreation (swimming, sport-fishing, water skiing, yachting) and fisheries.

History

As of 1850, the lake was used as a

bathing Bathing is the act of washing the body, usually with water, or the immersion of the body in water. It may be practiced for personal hygiene, religious ritual or therapeutic purposes. By analogy, especially as a recreational activity, the term is ...

lake and a

resort A resort (North American English) is a self-contained commercial establishment that tries to provide most of a vacationer's wants, such as food, drink, swimming, lodging, sports, entertainment, and shopping, on the premises. The term ''resort ...

area in the

spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season) Spring, also known as springtime, is one of the four temperate seasons, succeeding winter and preceding summer. There are various technical definitions of spring, but local usage of ...

. Nearby

hot spring A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow bodies of magma (molten rock) or by circ ...

s were also popular with visitors.

Economy

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

crawfish Crayfish are freshwater crustaceans belonging to the clade Astacidea, which also contains lobsters. In some locations, they are also known as crawfish, craydids, crawdaddies, crawdads, freshwater lobsters, mountain lobsters, rock lobsters, mu ...

sardine "Sardine" and "pilchard" are common names for various species of small, oily forage fish in the herring family Clupeidae. The term "sardine" was first used in English during the early 15th century, a folk etymology says it comes from the Ital ...

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

Guatemala City Guatemala City ( es, Ciudad de Guatemala), known locally as Guatemala or Guate, is the capital and largest city of Guatemala, and the most populous urban area in Central America. The city is located in the south-central part of the country, nest ...

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

sediment Sediment is a naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of wind, water, or ice or by the force of gravity acting on the particles. For example, sand an ...

are carried into the lake through the Villalobos River. This has contributed to high levels of

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

of the lake's water, and an accelerated

eutrophication Eutrophication is the process by which an entire body of water, or parts of it, becomes progressively enriched with minerals and nutrients, particularly nitrogen and phosphorus. It has also been defined as "nutrient-induced increase in phytopla ...

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 or ...

. 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 kick him out of 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 Quetzals () are strikingly colored birds in the trogon family. They are found in forests, especially in humid highlands, with the five species from the genus ''Pharomachrus'' being exclusively Neotropical, while a single species, the eared quet ...

, 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 Ingrid Roxana Baldetti Elías (born May 13, 1962) was the first female Vice President of Guatemala from 2012 until her resignation amid a corruption scandal in 2015. She was convicted of fraud in 2018. Early life Baldetti was born in Guatemala ...

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