The biggest lake lagoon mainland South America. South America: Lakes interesting for tourists

In South America, the largest amount of precipitation falls compared to the rest of the continents of the Earth. It created good conditions for the occurrence of the abundant system of lakes and rivers. They play a major role in different aspects of human life and land, among them there are also a tourist component. By the way, some rivers and lakes of South America practically do not contain water. But for travelers it does not make them less attractive. Even, rather, on the contrary - today many are interesting

Lakes continent attract every year a lot of travelers. View some of them people travel from all over the planet.

Maracaibo

Many tourists today are interesting for research. South America. Lakes also attract their attention. The biggest one is Maracaibo. But if it is considered as a geographical education, it has signs of the bay. Its main feature is pretty terrible and unique a natural phenomenon - It is a zipper kathatumbo.

At the point of entry into it, the river Kathatumbo is observed with lightning. Here they beat almost continuously at 9 o'clock. Almost half of the nights here are entangled by very bright outbreaks, they can be seen at 400 km.

This phenomenon is explained by the collision of methane, rising up. It comes from local marshes, as well as from the Andes, with descending air flows. At this moment, the difference in potentials is formed in the clouds, which all the time is discharged in the form of heavenly electricity.

Pic Lake

Red lake

Considering the lakes of South America, it is impossible not to allocate a red lake. So often referred to the lagoon-Colorado. This lake is located in the reserve called Eduardo Avaro in Bolivia, at an altitude of almost 4,200 meters.

Its uniqueness is based on two factors.

• The first: in this place "live" algae, which produce substances, reliably protect them from ultraviolet, therefore, changing the shade of water. The lake, depending on the temperature and time of the day, can acquire different shades - from the scarlet to dark purple.
• The following: This is a place in which thousands of flamingos will be settled, among which there are representatives and the rarest species.

Uyuni

Some Lakes of South America are distinguished by a small amount of water. So in the uinger, it appears extremely rarely. This is the world's largest salt dried lake, which was formed in the prehistoric period by the method of transformation of several reservoirs.

This giant Solonchak, the total area of \u200b\u200bwhich is about 10.5 thousand km², is located in Bolivia, in the south of Altiplano, desert plains. It contains large salt reserves, lithium chloride.

Travelers falling here during the rain, the lake gives amazing impressions. At this time, a sense of driving or walking on a huge mirror, flat and smooth, which spreads at huge distances.

There are many beautiful lakes on the mainland. Some of them are located in hard-to-reach regions, others are "tourist promoted attractions." No matter how cool, see large lakes South America is worth each traveler looking for an unforgettable sensation and vivid impressions.

Lazo Colorado Laguna (Laguna Colorado) in Bolivia refutes the usual ideas about the color of water. Contrary to the laws of nature, water here is not blue, but red-brown, which together with others martian landscapes And in love with these places with flocks Flamingo and gives the lagoon a special color.

Colorado Lagoon - Small salt Lake In the National Reserve Eduardo Avaro. Like other attractions of Bolivia - and - it is located on an extensive plateau of Alplano, literally diluted with salt marshes.

An unusual color of water - and, depending on the time of day, there are a wide variety of shades of red - explained by the pigmentation of seaweed those present in it, as well as sedimentary rocks.

Despite the stern local climate (and the lake is located at an altitude of four thousand meters and the surrounding landscape here looks more like a desert), a rare beauty of the lake fell in love with numerous flamingos - Laguna Colorado traditionally attracts the pink flamingos of James, as well as the Andean and Chilean flamingos.

In Bolivia, there are many lakes and fresh lakes on the high-mountain plateau. One of them is Laguna-Colorado (Ip. Laguna Colorado; Kech. Pukaqucha) - shallow lakesaturated with mineral salts located on an extensive (Spanish Altiplano) in the territory National Reserve Eduardo Avaroa (Ip. Eduardo Avaroa Andean Fauna National Reserve) in the southwestern part, not far from the border with, at an altitude of 3.8 thousand. Over y / m.

The area of \u200b\u200bthe lake mirror is almost 60 km², but its depth rarely exceeds 30 cm. The shores of the reservoir are rich in sulfur and soda, as well as in many places are covered with a layer of borax - evaporated salt, which also forms numerous snow-white isles in the lake itself.

Laguna-Colorado is surrounded picturesque rocks and boiling geysers. The local delicious landscapes extending against the background of glittering whiteness of Andean vertices look like unearthly, as if you were miracle to be on another planet.

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Description and characteristics

Laguna-Colorado is one of the important natural facilities International importance included in the Convention on Wetlands (1971 g). In 2007, an amazing mineral lake fell into the number of nominees for the title of one of the seven new wonders of nature, but in the number of votes did not pass to the final of the competition.

The lake refutes the generally accepted ideas about the color of the water: contrary to natural laws, the water here is not familiar with blue or green, and the red-brown, that, along with the surrounding Martian landscapes, and chose these edges with flocks of flamingos, gives the lagoon uniqueness and special flavor. The non-traditional color of water, which, depending on the time of day and air temperatures, acquires a variety of shades of red (from pinkish to punch), green and saturated violet, is explained by the pigmentation of seaweed and salt sediments present in it, as well as local sedimentary rocks. The combination of burgundy terracotta water with snow-white islands of Bura creates an amazing paint game - an unforgettable fantastic spectacle.

Due to the strange color of water, the lake is often called red

In summer, it is warm enough here, but at night the air temperature is often dropped below 0 ° C.

Tourist excursions to the lake should be taken in the warm season when natural landscapes are replete with all sorts of paints.

Laguna-Colorado: Flora and Fauna

Red Lagoon, rich in plankton, has become a hometown for nearly 200 types of migratory birds. Despite the harsh local climate, the lake of rare beauty was chosen by numerous flamingos (about 40 thousand). Many representatives of the rare South American species of Flamingo live in the Laguna-Colorado area pink flamingo Jems (Lat. Phoenicoparrus Jamesi). Despite the fact that there are very few on the planet, on the shore of the lake, beautiful birds accumulate in large quantities and are in this area consistently throughout the year, only periodically flying out of its limits.

Also here you can meet the Andean and Chilean flamingos, although in much smaller quantities. Exotic birds roam in shallow water or pictured, immersing the beaks into the water.

Flamingo is especially beautiful at dawn, in the rays ascending sun. The clarification of birds acquires pink color thanks to Plankton, in abundance of the lake present in the bottom layer, which they eat in huge quantities. By the way, to get in unbearable, the pink flamingos very quickly become ordinary white birds. In order to fully enjoy the type of magnificent flamingos, you can stay on the night in a small hotel, located right on the shore of the lake.

Despite tough climatic conditionsVicuni, Puma, Alpaca, Lama, Fox, Chinchilla, Reptiles are found in the district.

At a distance of about 100 km from the Red is a green lake, and between them is a thermal zone, consisting of hot springs, mud volcanoes and fumarole - jets of hot volcanic gas and steam sprinkle. Of course, the green lake on unusual inferior is inferior to red with its Martian landscapes, but this reservoir is surrounded by a chain of smoking acting volcanoes.

There is also a small white nearby. salt Lake (Up.Solar de Chalviri), on the shores of which there are many warm thermal sourceswhere you can swim. The government of the country is trying to take action for the use of the geothermal energy of the Earth, but for the fact that further drilling the wells does not go.

In recent decades, more tourists are rushed to Laguna-Colorado, which attracts, above all, an unusual color range of fantastic, precisely alien scenery.

Curious facts

• Laguna-Colorado with a brown-red water is one of the most valuable "pearls" of Bolivia and the most visited place in the country.
• Interestingly, the color of the lake varies depending on the weather and illumination. The water of the lagoon can be blocked by different colors, from burgundy black to greenish and yellowish.
• On the shores of Laguna-Colorado, a rare variety of Flamingo - Flamingo James - dwells in such quantities that it is quite difficult to believe in the rarity of these beautiful birds. In fact, this lake is one of the few places on the planet, where Flamingo James feel at home.
• In the middle of the twentieth century, scientists were confident that Flamingo James in the world completely disappeared; Only later it turned out that these rare birds still inhabit in South America.

Most big Lake South America and one of the oldest lakes of our planet, located in Venezuela. The lake surrounds colorful and rich vegetable and animal world. His coast and bottom - the place of oil and gas production. On the shore of the lake is the country's economic center - the city of Maracaybo. Above the lake occurs an amazing natural phenomenon - "Lightning Kathatumbo." Atmospheric discharges beat here 160 days a year 10 hours a day.

Lake discoveries

In the history of Lake Maracaybo, the two most important dates are August 24, 1499, when the Spaniards opened it, and 1914, when the first oil wells were drilled on his coast.

Bowl-Wpadina Lake Marakaybo (or, in a different way, the deflection of the tectonic plate of North-Western Andes) was formed about 36-22 million years ago. This is one of the oldest lakes of the Earth. Venezuela archaeologists believe that people on his shores appeared about 15,000 years ago. The first European, who led Karavlah's Carazhells here, was Alonso Hedge, one of the Columbus officers, to which he entrusted an independent expedition. It is known that together with the okhoy, then the Americans, who lived in Spain, who lived in Spain, was the very name New World became America. It is believed that he, having seen at home on the piles of Indians Paraucano, exclaimed: "Oh, Venetsolo!" ("Oh, Little Venice!"), And so the name of Venezuela was born. Several legends are associated with the name of the lake. In the most stable of them, Casic (Chief) of the Motilon Indians named Mara, fought with colonialists at the beginning of the XVI century. When Mara was fucked by a bullet, his warriors shouted "Mara Kayo!" ("Mara Pal!"). Some historians believe that the name Maracaibo appeared earlier and it happens from the name of the adjacent swamps - Maara-Ivo is a "snake place".

Maracaybo city was founded three times. In 1525, the emperor Karl V for 12 gold barrels handed over for 30 years the right to control Venezuela German Bankers Velzera. In 1529, at the place of the village of Villa de Maracaibo Ambro Zius Eikhinger (Ambrosio Alfinger in the Spanish version) built a port. By 1535, life in the city of Ugasl. Alonso Pacheco in 1569 founded him anew, but the war with the Indians prevented him to continue the started. Only the third attempt was faced, Petro Mal-Donado, in 1571 in the XVII century. Port Marakaybo often attacked pirates. The history of the capture of His Henry Morgan is described in R. Sabatini Roman Sabatini "Odyssey Captain Blade." Transformation small city The Economic Center began in 1918, when oil and gas production adopted an industrial scale.

Lake Maracaibo is, strictly speaking, the Lagoon of the Venezuelan Gulf Caribbean, connected to him with a narrow shallow strait of the Tablaso, whose width is 8-10 km, the natural depth was 2-4 m, in 1957 it was deepened to 10-14.5 m, for the passage of ocean courts. The lake is located in the north-west of Venezuela in the tectonic depression between the ridges of the North-Western Andes Cordille de Periha in the west and Cordillera de Merida in the south and east.

Maracaibibo paints

The world of this lake is rich, colorfully and is known one of the most rare phenomena of nature.

The vegetation of the shores of the lake is changing along the north axis - south. The shores of the Tablaso Strait are covered with typical savannah grasses, south relief coast rises, everything flows into the lake more rivers, water is becoming more and more fresh and on southern coast Lakes, over swampy lagoons with mangrove thickets, the wall rises a thick rainforest, in which many animals live. Further surroundings are spread by the cries of monkeys-revunov. Sugar cane plantations and cocoa trees spread on drained areas. Interestingly evidence of the 1806 French ambassador to Caracas Francois on the Indian Guahiro: "They are brave warriors, skillfully manage their canoe, everything is like one - excellent swimmers and divers. At the same time, a lot is fantasized, and all the time something is written, obviously having a tendency to writing. Their women are no less artistic, but they are distinguished by great common sense. " Creative gifts in Guahiro's appearance and Paraukhano is noticeable today. Women are wide, bright and long dresses called manta. Men are wide shirts, decorated with many beads, seeded by their girlfriends, big needlewomen; Hydly-related hook snow-white wipes with the Pattern of the Sun Maracaibo - the main souvenir of the lake.

Over Maracaibo takes place the rare phenomenon of nature, called the "Catatum Lighthouse". Lighthouse - Because lightning lights, which at night flashed over the place of imposing this river in the lake, visible for 400 km. Lightning beat in these places more than 160 days a year, 10 hours a day, about 300 times per hour. Lightning kathatumbo is considered the largest natural generator of ozone on Earth. And this phenomenon arises when an atmospheric vortex from the warm air of the Caribbean Sea and Cold - from the vertices of the Andes is mixed with the gas methane rising from the swamps.

Curious facts

■ The Indians of the SUP tribe believe that the kathatum lightning appear when the fireflies face the souls of the ancestors.

■ Gaitassulianas - the so-called musical style of Venezuelan folk music, born on the shores of Maracaibo. These melodies absorb elements of salsa and meringues. It is popular in the whole Latin Americais fulfilled most often during the christmas holidays.

ATTRACTIONS

■ Rafael Bridge Urdnet (1962, Length - 8769 m, maximum height - 45 m), named after the Hero of the National Liberation Movement of Venezuela.
■ Marakaibo: Karabobovo Street (Colonial Architecture), Palacio de Gobierno (the Palace of Orlov - in the figures of four kondors on the roof), Cathedral Maracaibo (XVI-XVII centuries), Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Rosario Chikinkira, or "La Chinita" (XIX century), Church of Iglesia de Santa Barbara and Iglesia de Santa Lucia, Baratt Theater (XIX century. ), La Chinita Memorial, Los Bermudes Art Center, Veded-del Lago Park on the shore of Oz. Maracaibo Botanical Garden, Historical Museum, Military Historical Museum.
■ Fort XVII century. on about. San Carlos.
■ National Park Chiyagas del Catatumbo (enters the preview World Heritage UNESCO).

Atlas. Whole world in your hands № 146

In the mountains of Bolivia, in the southwestern part of the country, 10 km from the border with Chile, on the territory National Park Eduardo Avaroa (in the original Eduardo Avaroa National Reserve) is located amazing lake with salted water of red. It is called Colorado Laguna or Red Laguna (Laguna Colorado or Red Lagoon).

Laguna Colorado on the map

• Geographic coordinates (-22.201527, -67.780132)
• Distance from the capital of Bolivia of the city of Sucre approximately 450 km
• To the nearest airport is Hoya Andya (in the original Aeropuerto Joya Andina) about 270 km north-east. It is located in the northwestern part of the city of Uyuni, near the Solonchak

Why is such a color?

As you understand, the water in the lagoon has many shades of red, shimmering from orange, burgundy to brown, and even purple.

The color of the water and its salinity is due to the minerals dissolved in it, sedimentary minerals and the effects of colonies of certain types of bacteria. Moreover, the colors of the water of the lagoon Colorado usually change depending on weather conditions, Temperature and precipitation.

The Red Lagoon is one of the highest salty lakes on the planet. It lies at an altitude of 4278 meters above the ocean level.
The size of the reservoir is 10.5 by 9.5 kilometers. The surface area is about 60 km 2. But the depth is much more modest. The average depth of the reservoir is about 35 centimeters. Maximum does not exceed one and a half meters. So you can safely go through it with a lake on foot, unless of course there will be such a desire, and it will want to spend a few hours in salt water. It is extremely recommended to do it, since the temperature of the water is far from comfortable.

By the way, in Senegal there is a similar lake (though it is significantly deeper and warmer). It is called Retba. There are still people get salt while being practically in salt solution for several hours.

There are also numerous white islets throughout the area of \u200b\u200bthe lagoon. This deposits of the boral - mineral, officially called sodium tetrahydrate. This mineral is used to obtain boron and its connections. Its white color contrasts with red water and blue sky, creating surreal landscapes, similar to illustrations from other planets.

Red Laguna - Flamingo House

Colorado Laguna sheltered the numerous population of Flamingo James. For a long time, scientists considered this species almost extinct until they found their large cluster on this red lake. According to approximate estimates, up to 30,000 individuals are collected here. You can also observe the related kind, the Andean and Chilean flamingos.

In addition to birds, in the vicinity of the lagoon you can see the Andean fox, chinchillas, llamas and other animals.
In the summer there is relatively warm, but at night the temperature often drops below 0 o C (do not forget at what height is Laguna).
The average annual precipitation registered in Colorado Lagoon is 75 mm.

Air temperature:

• Average +8.9 O with
• Maximum average value of +10.7 o C
• Absolute maximum +17.4 o C
• Minimum middle -8.9 O with
• Absolute minimum -17.0 o with

As you can see, you will have to take care of warm clothes and good shoes.

1. Approximately 240 kilometers north there is another salted lake. This is the famous Solonchak Uin - one of the most famous places on the planet, where the sky merges with the Earth. Often it is difficult to determine where the horizon
2. 65 kilometers south is no less beautiful and amazing lake called Laguna Verde. There, too, you can see the magnificent flamingos, and the water is incredible, but already emerald, color
3. The Colorado Lagoon is part of the wetlands in the Las-siep, as well as in the "Ramsar wetlands of international importance" since 1990
4. In 2007, an international competition was held for the definition of modern seven wonders of the world. Colorado Lagoon was one of the candidates for the place in this list, but did not gain the right number of votes
5. There were no accurate data on the origin of the name, but most likely, it went from the words Color (in English "Color"). That is, in general, it is possible to name this place "color lagoon". Relations with American State Colorado was not found

Lagoon Colorado photo