Lagoons Near Shores of Gulf of Tehuantepec, Mexico
17.8N 97.7W
Mexico - November 21st, 2011
A series of lagoons can be observed near the shores of the Gulf of Tehuantepec, including Laguna Superior (greyish tan, left) and Laguna Inferior (greenish blue, just right of the former), in the state of Oaxaca. The bright green lagoon to the right is shared between Oaxaca and Chiapas.
Laguna Superior marks the the narrowest point of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, which is 200 km (120 mi) across from gulf to gulf, or 192 km (119 mi) to the head of the lagoon. The Sierra Madre breaks down at this point into a broad, plateau-like ridge, whose elevation, at the highest point reached by the Ferrocarril Transistmico railway at Chivela Pass, is 224 m (735 ft).
