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Atitlan, Lago
General Information
| Description |
Lago Atitlán is surrounded by three 10,000-foot volcanoes, and lies within a large volcanic caldera. The lake is famous to international tourism due to its extraordinary landscape, crystal clear water, and cultural diversity of indigenous Maya people. Water pollution, litter, introduction of foreign species and shore development threatens the health of beautiful Lake Atitlán. |
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| Country |
Guatemala
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| Latitude |
14° 41' 0"
(14.6833) |
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| Longitude |
-91° 11'
0" (-91.1833) |
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Maps
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Atitlan - Central America location map |
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Latin America & Mexico Biodiversity Conservation Priorities |
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Atitlan Watershed Map
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Physical Characteristics
| Description |
Atitlán is a deep lake reaching 342 meters with an average depth of 220 meters. Formed by a volcanic explosion with a further collapse of 200 square kilometers of volcanic landscape, resulting in a boiling caldera that became extinct by cooling to form the bottom of the lake and growing volcanoes inside. A 300-meter cliff dominates the northern shore and eight volcanic buildings emerge from the lake on its southern shore, creating the shallow bays of Santiago, San Lucas and San Juan. It’s an oligothrophic lake with very little fish habitat, except in the shallow bays. The lake has excellent water quality, reaching and average of 11 meters of water transparency measured with an all-white Secchi disk. Most of the lake has drinking water quality except for some of the shore-town beaches. |
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| Surface Area |
130.00 km2 |
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| Depth |
Mean depth: 220.0 m
Maximum depth: 342.0 m
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| Age |
10,000 - 99,999 years before present
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| Origin |
Volcanic
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| Trophic State |
Oligotrophic |
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| Type |
Fresh
Permanent
Natural
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Socio-Political
| Economic Value |
Largest national and international tourist attraction of Guatemala. |
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| Major Cities |
Panajachel, Santiago Atitlán, San Pedro la Laguna, Sololá |
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Watershed Management
| Description |
A divided government institutional framework within forestry, protected areas, and public health institutions hampers integrated watershed management. |
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| Watershed Action Plan |
In development |
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| Sub-basin Action Plan |
Not applicable |
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| Issues |
Lack of solid waste and wastewater management in most human settlements, and landscape protection policies. |
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| Other Issues |
Invasive Species
Point source pollution
Polluted runoff
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| Monitoring |
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Biodiversity Conservation
| Description |
The lake has been designated as a Multiple Use Protected Area. |
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| Designations |
National Designation
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| Species of Concern |
Scirpus californicus
Podilymbus gigas |
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Organizations
LakeNet Programs
Documents
Resources
News
Additional Data Sources
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Birkett, C., and I. Mason. 1995. A new global lakes database for remote sensing programme studying climatically sensitive large lakes. Journal of Great Lakes Research, 21 (3) 307-318. |
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| • |
International Lake Environment Committee, the United Nations Environment Program and Environment Agency, Government of Japan. 1997. World Lakes Database. |
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