June 18th, 2012 Category: Image of the day, Lakes

Bolivia - June 5th, 2012

Features of Bolivia’s landscape show a diversity of colors: the navy blue of Lake Titicaca,  the bright white of the salt flats of the Salar de Uyuni, and the intense green and brown waters of Lake Poopó. Lake Titicaca, located in the Andes on the border of Peru and Bolivia, is the largest lake in South America by volume of water. The lake is composed of two nearly separate sub-basins that are connected by the Strait of Tiquina. Water flows out the single outlet at the Rio Desaguadero, which then flows south through Bolivia to Lake Poopó.

Tags: Andes Mountains Bolivia Lake Poopó Lake Titicaca Peru Salar de Uyuni | Comments |

May 29th, 2012 Category: Image of the day, Lakes, Salt Flats

Bolivia - May 28th, 2012

Visible north of the immaculate white salt flats of the Salar de Uyuni is a brightly colored green and brown body of water: Lake Poopó. It a large saline lake located in a shallow depression in the Altiplano Mountains in Bolivia, at an altitude of approximately 3,700 metres. The lake is long and wide (90 km by 32 km), and the permanent part of the lake body covers approximately 1,000 km².

The lake receives most of its water from the Desaguadero River which flows from Lake Titicaca at the north end of the Altiplano. The vivid coloring in this image is due to the influx of sediments from the river and the growth of algae. Since the lake lacks any major outlet and has a mean depth of no more than 3 m, the surface area varies greatly. The lake has been designated as a site for conservation under the Ramsar Convention.

Tags: Altiplano Bolivia Desaguadero River Lake Poopó Salar de Uyuni | Comments |

May 9th, 2012 Category: Lakes, Salt Flats

Bolivia - May 8th, 2012

The vast Salar de Uyuni appears as a bright white expanse on the Bolivian Altiplano, near the border with Chile. It is the world’s largest salt flat at 10,582 square kilometers (4,086 sq mi).

Just north of the salar is  Lake Poopó, green from sediments and algal growth. It is a large yet shallow lake in Bolivia’s Altiplano Mountains. To its northwest is the larger and deeper Lake Titicaca, dark blue in color, shared by Peru and Bolivia.

Tags: Bolivia Chile Lake Poopó Lake Titicaca Peru Salar de Uyuni | Comments |

September 17th, 2011 Category: Lakes

South America - August 15th, 2011

The large, dark blue body of water standing out against the brown altiplano on the Peru-Bolivia border near the center of this image is Lake Titicaca. It sits 3,811 m (12,500 ft) above sea level, making it the highest commercially navigable lake in the world.

The lake is located at the northern end of the endorheic Altiplano basin high in the Andes on the border of Peru and Bolivia. The western part of the lake lies within the Puno Region of Peru, and the eastern side is located in the Bolivian La Paz Department.

It is composed of two nearly separate sub-basins that are connected by the Strait of Tiquina, which is 800 m (2,620 ft) across at the narrowest point. The overall average depth of the lake is 107 m (351 ft).

Also visible to the southeast of the lake, near the bottom edge, are the greenish Lake Poopó and the white salt flats of the  Salar de Uyuni.

Tags: Altiplano Bolivia Lake Poopó Lake Titicaca Peru Salar de Uyuni Strait of Tiquina | Comments |