April 23rd, 2012 Category: Image of the day, Lakes

Mexico - April 14th, 2012

Sediments and phytoplankton growth gives the waters of the Términos Lagoon a bright green color. This body of water is made up of a series of rich, sediment-laden lagoons and tidal estuaries connected by two channels to the Bay of Campeche in the southern part of Gulf of Mexico. It is located in Carmen Municipality in the southwestern part of the Mexican state of Campeche.

The lagoon’s shores are swampy and support mangroves, and twenty-nine percent of the lagoon is covered with seagrass. It is fed by several fresh water rivers, including the Mezcapala, Grijalva and Usumacinta Rivers, and includes several lagoons such as Pom, Atasta, Puerto Rico, Este and Panlau. It is about 112.5 square km in area (about 50 miles long and 20 miles wide). Every nine days, approximately 50% of the lagoon’s water volume is renewed, primarily through the effect of ocean tides.

Tags: Bay of Campeche Grijalva River Mexico Mezcapala River Términos Lagoon Usumacinta River | Comments |

January 16th, 2012 Category: Image of the day, Lakes, Rivers

Mexico - December 31st, 2011

This APM image shows Nezahualcoyotl Lake, an artificial lake created by the hydroelectric Malpaso Dam, on the Grijalva River. The Malpaso Dam (also known as Nezahualcoyotl and Raudales Malpaso) is an embankment dam near Tecpatán in Chiapas, Mexico.  It was the first major dam on the Grijalva River.

The Grijalva River, formerly known as Tabasco River, is a 480 km long river in southeastern Mexico. The river rises in Chiapas highlands and flows from Chiapas to the state of Tabasco through the Sumidero Canyon into the Bay of Campeche. The river’s drainage basin is 134,400 km² in size.

Tags: Chiapas Grijalva River Malpaso Dam Mexico Nezahualcoyotl Lake | Comments |

January 29th, 2011 Category: Lakes

Mexico - January 16th, 2011

Visible in this center of this image is the long Belisario Domínguez Reservoir (also commonly known as La Angostura Reservoir), the largest reservoir in the Mexican State of Chiapas.

The lake was created by a dam on the Grijalva. River The dam and lake were made in order to regularize irrigation and generate hydroelectric power.

Tags: Belisario Domínguez Reservoir Chiapas Grijalva River La Angostura Reservoir Mexico | Comments |