Licancabur Lake
| Licancabur Lake | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Location | Licancabur volcano |
| Coordinates | 22°50′2″S 67°53′1″W / 22.83389°S 67.88361°WCoordinates: 22°50′2″S 67°53′1″W / 22.83389°S 67.88361°W |
| Lake type | crater lake |
| Primary outflows | Seepage and evaporation |
| Catchment area | 22,000 square metres (240,000 sq ft) |
| Basin countries | Chile |
| Max. width | 85 metres (280 ft) |
| Surface area | 0.007 km2 (0.0027 sq mi) |
| Average depth | 5.2 m (17 ft) |
| Max. depth | 5–6 m (16–20 ft) approx. |
| Surface elevation | 5,900 m (19,400 ft) |
| Frozen | most of the year |
Licancabur Lake is a crater lake in Chile located in the volcano Licancabur in the Antofagasta region, of the Región de Antofagasta, Province of El Loa. It is close to San Pedro de Atacama and also very close to the border of Chile with Bolivia. It is believed to be one of the highest lakes in the world at an elevation of 5,900 m (19,400 ft).
The lake is one among several volcanic lakes in the region at high altitude. The lake is located inside the summit crater of Licancabur and was discovered by climbers in 1953, when it was 85 metres (280 ft) long. While the lake may have overflowed in the past, presently it is only drained by seepage and evaporation. It covered a surface area of 7,000 square metres (75,000 sq ft) in 2002; lake levels vary otherwise.
The lake has clear waters and is slightly saline; temperatures ranging between 1.4–4.3 °C (34.5–39.7 °F) and 6 °C (43 °F) as recorded at the lake bottom in 2006 suggest it is subject to geothermal heating. The local climate is arid, cold and subject to strong insolation, including strong ultraviolet radiation. This has caused the lake to be compared to the environment of Mars. Despite these conditions, the lake features a biota including bacteria, archaea, crustaceans and even a midge.
Volcanic lakes in the Andes of Bolivia and Chile can be found at high altitude, some of them close to or exceeding 6,000 metres (20,000 ft). Such lakes often are poor in nutrients and exposed to strong ultraviolet radiation, partly due to high insolation and partly because their waters tend to be transparent to ultraviolet radiation. Further, the atmosphere at such altitudes is oxygen-poor.
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