Arenal lake
Arenal lake | |||||
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View of the Arenal lake | |||||
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Coordinates | 10 ° 32 ′ 0 ″ N , 84 ° 56 ′ 0 ″ W | ||||
Data on the structure | |||||
Data on the reservoir | |||||
Water surface | 80 km² |
The Arenal Lake is a reservoir in Costa Rica and with its area of 80 km² the largest inland lake in the country. It is located at the foot of the Arenal volcano and near the Monteverde Cloud Forest . The lake was artificially dammed in the 1970s , the dam is in the immediate vicinity of the entrance to the volcano's national park. The energy gained from the damming covers almost 60% of the country's electrical energy needs. In addition, wind turbines were installed on the mountain ranges bordering the lake , as the size of the lake causes high wind speeds. For the same reason, Lake Arenal is world-famous as a surfing area , and the lake also attracts many anglers.
Native animal species
A wide variety of waterfowl can be observed in the shallow water zones, such as: B. strips heron , snowy egret , Northern Jacana , gray heron , green fishing and Schwalbe consecration .