Laguna Colorada (Red Lagoon) is a shallow salt lake in the southwest of the altiplano of Bolivia, within Eduardo Avaroa Andean Fauna National Reserve and close to the border with Chile, notable for the reddish color of its waters.
| Laguna Colorada | |
|---|---|
 Andean Flamingos | |
  Laguna Colorada  Laguna Colorada | |
| Location | Potosí, Bolivia |
| Coordinates | 22°11′55″S 67°46′52″W / 22.19861°S 67.78111°W |
| Type | salt lake[1] |
| Primary inflows | Rio Sulor[2] |
| Basin countries | Bolivia |
| Max. length | 10.7 km (6.6 mi) |
| Max. width | 9.6 km (6.0 mi) |
| Surface area | 60 km2 (23 sq mi) |
| Average depth | 0.35 m (1 ft 2 in) |
| Max. depth | 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) |
| Shore length1 | 35 km (22 mi) |
| Surface elevation | 4,278 m (14,035 ft) |
| Islands | numerous, sometimes huge borax deposit islands[1] |
 | |
| Official name | Los Lípez |
| Designated | 27 June 1990 |
| Reference no. | 489[3] |
| 1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure. | |
Contents
editThe lake contains borax islands, whose white color contrasts with the reddish color of its waters, which is caused by red sediments and pigmentation of some algae.[4]
Geography
editLaguna Colorada is part of the Los Lípez (formerly Laguna Colorada) Ramsar wetland. It was listed as a "Ramsar Wetland of International Importance" in 1990. On, July 13, 2009, the site was expanded from 513.18 to 14,277.17 km2 (5,512.45 sq mi) to include the surrounding high Andean endorheic, hypersaline and brackish lakes and associated wetlands (known as bofedales).[5]
Fauna
editJames's flamingos abound in the area.[4] It is also possible to find Andean and Chilean flamingos, but in lesser quantities.
See also
edit
- Laguna Verde, a nearby salt lake notable for its green coloration
- Laguna Blanca, a nearby salt lake notable for its white coloration
- Mount Nelly
References
edit- ^ a b Amusing Planet website, at Laguna Colorada: The Red Lagoon of Bolivia .
- ^ Hurlbert, Stuart H. (6 Dec 2012). Saline Lakes V: Proceedings of the Vth International Symposium on Inland Saline Lakes. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 264. ISBN 9789401120760.
- ^ "Los Lípez". Ramsar Sites Information Service. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
- ^ a b "Laguna Colorada". Atlas Obscura. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
- ^ The Annotated Ramsar List: Bolivia
External links
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