Lake Tota
| Lake Tota | ||
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| Satellite image of Lake Tota | ||
| Geographical location | Boyacá , Colombia | |
| Drain | Río Upía → Río Meta | |
| Places on the shore | Aquitania , Cuitiva , Tota | |
| Location close to the shore | Sogamoso | |
| Data | ||
| Coordinates | 5 ° 32 '24 " N , 72 ° 55' 12" W | |
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| Altitude above sea level | 3015 m | |
| surface | 56.2 km² | |
| length | 12 km | |
| width | 6.2 km | |
| scope | 47 km | |
| Maximum depth | 67.40 m | |
| Middle deep | 58 m | |
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particularities |
largest lake in Colombia; three islands |
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| View of Playa Blanca in the south of Lake Tota | ||
The Lake Tota (Spanish: Laguna de Tota , Lago de Tota ) is an in Colombia situated Hochandensee. It is located at an altitude of 3,015 meters in the area of the Boyacá department . The length is twelve kilometers, the circumference 47 kilometers, the area 56.2 km² and the average depth 58 meters. This makes it the largest water reservoir in Colombia. In the northern half of the lake are the three islands of San Pedro, Cerro Chiquito and Santa Helena, on the east side the peninsulas Potrero and Susacá. The lake is in the territory of the municipalities of Aquitania , Cuítiva and Tota . The municipality of Iza is also nearby. The largest town in the area is Sogamoso , which is 15 kilometers north of the lake. The lake is three hours from the Colombian capital Bogotá .
The temperatures near the lake are subject to strong fluctuations and range between 0 and 22 ° C.
Culture and tourism
The vegetation that used to be endemic to the lake had to give way to pastureland and arable land on which potatoes and onions are grown. The forest areas were largely replaced by pine and eucalyptus plantations. The beauty of the landscapes in the area and the crystal clear water make the lake one of the main tourist attractions of Colombia. Camping is possible at Playa Blanca in the south of the lake, otherwise several hotels around the lake attract tourists. Other activities include boat trips, water sports, and fishing. One of the attractions in Aquitania is the cathedral. The region around Lake Tota used to be one of the most important religious centers of the Muisca culture.
In 1970, the Colombian writer Lilia Montaña de Silva Célis described the culture of the people living by the lake in her work Mitos, leyendas, tradiciones y folclor del Lago de Tota .
Flora and fauna
In the area around the lake there are three species of Espeletia , subshrubs from the daisy family . These are E. jaramilloi , E. tunjana and E. oswaldiana . Two endemic animal taxa, the Andean diver ( Podiceps andinus ) and the loach catfish species Rhizosomichthys totae have not been detected since the 1970s and 1950s and are believed to be extinct. The northern pointed- tailed duck ( Anas georgica niceforoi ) has also been considered extinct since the 1950s. In 2003 there should have been a rediscovery of this subspecies, but this was doubted in 2008, because the 40 specimens that were allegedly rediscovered were another subspecies that was mistaken for Anas georgica niceforoi .
More occurring on Lake Tota Tiertaxa are Ixobrychus exilis bogotensis (subspecies of the American bittern ), Oxyura jamaicensis andina (subspecies of the ruddy duck ), the Bogotá-Rail ( Rallus semiplumbeus ) and Apolinarzaunkönig ( Cistothorus apolinari ).
Several species of fish have been released in Lake Tota, including rainbow trout , brown trout and goldfish . The importation of these and other fish species into the lake led to a disturbance of the natural balance and the disappearance of several fish species formerly native to Lake Tota.
literature
- Krzysztof Dydyński: Colombia . Lonely Planet Publications, 1995. ISBN 978-0-86442-234-7 (English)
- Collectif, Dominique Auzias, Jean-Paul Labourdette: Colombie 2009 . Petit Futé, 2009. ISBN 978-2-7469-2536-6 (French)
- Joaquin Esguerra Ortiz: Diccionario jeográfico de los Estados Unidos de Colombia . JB Gaitan, 1879 Online (Spanish)
Web links
- Tourist information about Lake Tota (Spanish)
- Biodiversity at Lake Tota ( Memento from November 10, 2005 in the Internet Archive ) (Spanish)
- Lago de Tota (Spanish)