Lake Junin (;
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas
**Spanish cuisine
**Spanish history
**Spanish culture
...
''Lago Junín'', named after the nearby town of
Junin) or Chinchaycocha (possibly from
Quechua
Quechua may refer to:
*Quechua people, several Indigenous ethnic groups in South America, especially in Peru
*Quechuan languages, an Indigenous South American language family spoken primarily in the Andes, derived from a common ancestral language ...
''chincha, chinchay'' north, northern, ''chinchay''
ocelot
The ocelot (''Leopardus pardalis'') is a medium-sized spotted Felidae, wild cat that reaches at the shoulders and weighs between on average. It is native to the southwestern United States, Mexico, Central America, Central and South America, ...
, ''qucha'' lake, lagoon, "northern lake" or "ocelot lake") is the largest
lake
A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...
entirely within
Peru
Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
vian territory. Even though
Lake Titicaca
Lake Titicaca (; ; ) is a large freshwater lake in the Andes mountains on the border of Bolivia and Peru. It is often called the highest navigable lake in the world. Titicaca is the largest lake in South America, both in terms of the volume of ...
has a much larger area, its eastern half is located on
Bolivia
Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...
n territory. Lake Junin is an important
birdwatching
Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device such as binoculars or a telescop ...
destination in the country.
Geography
Lake Junin is located in the
Andean
The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long and wide (widest between 18°S ...
highlands of central Peru. Most of the lake is in the
Junin Province of the
Junin Region, but its northwestern tip belongs to the
Pasco Province of the
Pasco Region
Pasco () is a department and region in central Peru
Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in ...
. The surface elevation of the lake is located at above sea level.
[Shoobridge, D. (February 2006). Protected Area Profile Perú - Junín National Reserve, ParksWatch Perú.]
The lake is on the upper reaches of the
Mantaro River
The Mantaro River (, ) is a long river running through the central region of Peru. Its Quechua name means "great river". The word "Mantaro" may be a word originally from the Asháninka language, who live downstream along the Ene River. The Mantar ...
within the
Amazon basin
The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributary, tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about , or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries ...
. There is a
hydroelectric power
Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...
station which regulates the water level of the lake at the outflow of the lake, through the
Upamayo Dam. In years of abundant rains, fluctuations in the water level are moderate, but in years of drought water level may drop leaving extensive areas exposed. The deepest part of the lake, which is located about off Huayre, is deep.
[
The headwaters of streams flowing into Lake Junin have been named as the "most distant" ]source of the Amazon River
The source of the Amazon River, the List of rivers by discharge, largest river in the world by discharge, has been a subject of exploring and speculations for centuries and continues to cause arguments even today. Determining the origin of the Ama ...
, one of the three places proposed as the "true" source of the Amazon.[Contos, James and Tripcevich, Nicholas (2014), "Correct Placement of the most distant stream of the Amazon River in the Mantaro River Drainage," ''Wiley Online Library,'', p. 38]
accessed 6 Oct 2018
Pollution
Since 1933 there has been an inflow of mining residues into the lake, which has adversely affected the fish and bird fauna in parts of the lake. Sewage coming from the towns of Junin and Carhuamayo District, Carhuamayo also pollutes the lake. These types of pollution are contributing to the natural 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 ...
process of this wetland.
Fauna and flora
Lake Junin is home to three endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found only 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 foun ...
birds that all are seriously threatened: the Junin rail
The Junin crake or Junin rail (''Laterallus jamaicensis tuerosi'') is an elusive and rare bird in the family Rallidae found only in marshy habitats around Lake Junin in the Andean highlands of west-central Peru.
The Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic ...
(''Laterallus (jamaicensis) tuerosi''), the Junin grebe
The Junin grebe (''Podiceps taczanowskii''), also known as Junin flightless grebe or puna grebe, is a species of grebe endemic to Lake Junin in the Andean highlands of Junin in west-central Peru. An endangered species, the current population is ...
(''Podiceps taczanowskii'') and the Junin white-tufted grebe
The white-tufted grebe (''Rollandia rolland''), also known as Rolland's grebe, is a species of grebe in the family Podicipedidae. Found in the southern and western South America, its natural habitat is freshwater lakes, ponds and sluggish rivers ...
(''Rollandia rolland morrisoni'').Telmatobius
''Telmatobius'' is a genus of frogs native to the Andean highlands in South America, where they are found in Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, northwestern Argentina and northern Chile. It is the only genus in the family Telmatobiidae. Some sources recogni ...
'' are restricted to the vicinity of the lake, although only one of these, the entirely aquatic Lake Junin frog
''Telmatobius macrostomus'', also known as the Lake Junin (giant) frog or Andes smooth frog, is a very large and endangered species of frog in the family Telmatobiidae.Angulo, A. (2008). "Conservation needs of Batrachophrynus and Telmatobius fro ...
(''T. macrostomus''), is found in the lake itself, whereas the Amable Maria frog (''T. brachydactylus'') is found nearby.[Stuart, Hoffmann, Chanson, Cox, Berridge, Ramani and Young, editors (2008). ''Threatened Amphibians of the World.'' ] Three ''Orestias
Orestias (), later refounded by Hadrian as Adrianople (Greek: Άδριανούπολις), was an ancient Greek settlement next to the Evros river in Thrace, near or at the site of present-day Edirne, and close to the current border between Turk ...
'' pupfish, '' O. empyraeus'', '' O. gymnota'' and '' O. polonorum'', and the catfish ''Trichomycterus
''Trichomycterus'' is a genus of fish in the family Trichomycteridae, the largest genus of its family with over 170 species currently described. This genus is native to freshwater habitats in Central and South America. These fish are generally s ...
oroyae'' are endemic to the lake basin and its vicinity (including associated streams, rivers and smaller lakes).introduced species
An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived ther ...
. The introduced trout
Trout (: trout) is a generic common name for numerous species of carnivorous freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of which are members of the subfamily Salmoninae in the ...
have been implicated in the decline of the endemic frogs.[
]
See also
* Antaqucha
* Allqaqucha
References
External links
Factsheet of the natural reserve
{{DEFAULTSORT:Junin
Lakes of Peru
Lake Junin
Lake Junin (; Spanish language, Spanish ''Lago Junín'', named after the nearby town of Junín, Peru, Junin) or Chinchaycocha (possibly from Quechua language, Quechua ''chincha, chinchay'' north, northern, ''chinchay'' ocelot, ''qucha'' lake, lag ...
Lakes of the Department of Junín
Lakes of the Department of Pasco